


Lakeside Retreat

by I_nvr_wrote_it



Category: Parks and Recreation
Genre: Ensemble Cast, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-13
Updated: 2014-05-13
Packaged: 2018-01-24 14:56:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 39,847
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1609223
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/I_nvr_wrote_it/pseuds/I_nvr_wrote_it
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Season 4 AU set sometime after End of the World. Chris tries to repair Ben and Leslie's friendship by forcing them to spend time together.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“Ben, you and Leslie are literally the best team I have in this government! You two saved the Parks department with your excellent work on the Harvest Festival and you secured the Little League Championship in Indianapolis! Why on earth would you not want to work with her anymore?”

Ben sighed and rubbed his hand down his face in frustration.  How was he supposed to explain to Chris that his heart was being ripped in two every time he saw her? That when she smiled at him with those hopeful eyes and asked him for a friendship he couldn’t return, that it took all his willpower not to tell her he’s so in love with her that he can’t see straight? That he wants to be with her no matter the cost? That he couldn’t stop wanting to touch her, kiss her, wrap himself around her and never let go again? That he was so head over heels for her that the only way he could have any hope at making it through this breakup was to remove himself from her life completely?

“Chris, Leslie and I just don’t see eye to eye anymore…”

“Nonsense!”, Chris interrupted and waved his hand at Ben in dismissal. A split second later, he snapped his fingers at Ben his face lighting up, “I know! What we all need is a weekend retreat and some team building exercises to recharge our spirits! That whole End of The World/Zorp fiasco may have affected our inner psyche more than we thought it did.  Let’s get out of these stuffy offices and get some fresh air to rejuvenate ourselves! Ben! Get on this immediately!  See if there’s a cabin for rent for this coming weekend on any of the lakes around Pawnee.  It’s supposed to be uncharacteristically warm so let’s go enjoy possibly the last nice days before winter settles in. We will tell everyone the weekend getaway is mandatory, no excuses. This is going to be the most amazing time any of us has ever had! I have literally never been more excited about anything in my entire life!” Chris flashed Ben his biggest smile and two thumbs up and left the office for his daily jog. 

Ben sank into the chair at the table in front of him, slumped his head in his hands and felt like he was either going to cry or throw something across the room. Why can’t Chris just give him this one simple request without always trying to fix everything? How was he supposed to spend an entire weekend forced to interact with Leslie all day and night? He just didn’t have the strength to hide his emotions for that long of a stretch of time without Chris figuring out that there was more going on than just a strained work relationship.

Ben dropped his hands into his lap and sighed.  There was no changing Chris’s mind when he believed he was onto something this spectacular. And Chris would never let him out of going. Ben shook his head, put his hands on the table, and forced himself to stand up. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, balling his fists to try to prepare himself for what lay ahead. He had no choice but to go to his office and find the rental for what was without a doubt going to be the longest weekend of his life.

******************************************************

“Listen up everyone!” Chris exploded into the Parks department without warning, bursting with his good news.  Ron growled in his office, Donna paused filing her fingernails to momentarily glance in his direction and Jerry was so startled he knocked over his entire cup on pens.  April continued texting like he wasn’t even there and Andy sat up smiling and eager to hear what great news Chris had. Ben looked down at his feet as he tried to appear invisible behind Chris’s joy as Leslie walked out to stand in the door of her office. 

“I have quite possibly the best news any of you have had all week! I’ve noticed some tensions lately among some of our collective staff and thought, what a better way to unwind than to go away on a weekend retreat! Ben was kind enough to find us a cabin for this weekend! Isn’t that just so exciting! We are going to have so much fun!” 

A collective grumble of excuses and no’s circulated through the group before Chris spoke again. “I’m not taking no for an answer! This is mandatory and everyone is required to attend. Come on guys!  Think of it as a free vacation with all your closest friends at a beautiful lakeside cabin! We can go can canoeing, play volleyball, go on nature hikes, and most importantly, spend time repairing and rebuilding trust and friendships. The key to any successful office is cohesion among the people in it.” 

The verbal disparagement of the collective subsided to a low groan as everyone recognized there was no getting out of this trip. Andy and Jerry wore genuine smiles and were trying to rally all the dissenters as Ben slowly let his eyes rise up off the floor for the first time since he’d entered the department. Unfortunately, his gaze rested upon Leslie’s questioning smile, her eyebrows raised in silent hope. Her face searched his for any sign that this may have been a turning point in rebuilding their friendship, something he had helped plan in order to spend time with her, but her smile was returned with a sad and empty stare of his own.  He bit his lip and watched as her smile slowly faded while he silently turned and walked out of the room.

********************************************

Ben managed to avoid Leslie for the few days leading up to the trip. If he saw her blonde hair in the distance he turned down the closest hallway or slid into an empty room. Whenever he could, he stayed closed in his office, silent and unapproachable. He threw himself into his work and left everyday exactly at 5:00 as to not risk being caught alone in the building with her afterhours. 

At home, he closed himself in his bedroom and refused to socialize with his roommates even when April threatened to erase all the episodes of Game of Thrones he had left to watch on the DVR or to cut up his favorite plaid shirt and make a Ben voodoo doll so she could torture him anyway from the living room. He was steeling himself up for the first night of the retreat on Friday. If he was able to withstand the torture of his somewhat terrifying roommate, he figured he may stand an ounce of a chance again the heartbreak he was unavoidably about to endure.

********************************************

Chris gathered the department together at 3 o’clock on Friday, informing them all that he was closing up early in order to allow ample time to drive to the lake, unpack all their cars and settle in before the sun set.  Ben noticed Leslie and Ann were nowhere in sight and allowed himself to relax for the first time in days. He could get through this. He just had to avoid one on one interactions with Leslie. There were enough people going on this retreat that he had no reason to ever be alone with her without someone’s company.

“Everyone has directions to the cabin right?”

Everyone nodded and Chris continued, “ok then! Let’s hit the road!  Wait… where are Leslie and Ann? “ Ben cringed at the mention of her name as a wave of panic settled back in.

April sighed. “She had some things to wrap up from campaigning before she could take the weekend off. Come on Chris, you know Leslie would never miss the opportunity to do stupid team building exercises for an entire weekend. She said to go on ahead and she’d meet us there later. “

Her eyes drifted to where Ben stood, “Come on Ben, you’re riding with me and Andy right?” Ben nodded and silently thanked whatever entity was responsible for granting him an additional few hours before she would join them. He needed all the time he could get.

*************************************************

He rode silently in the back of Andy’s car while he and April blasted the radio and sang along to a bunch of songs he had never heard before. They did nauseating things like feed each other skittles from each other’s mouths and made out way more than was necessary considering Andy was actually supposed to be driving and he was in the car with them. When April tried to climb on Andy’s lap as they rode along Ben finally sat up frustrated.

“Ok guys, seriously??  Do you want me to drive or something? That way you can do whatever you want in the backseat where I can’t see you and we could possibly, oh I don’t know… make it to the cabin alive?”

April turned to him with a smirk, “Oh sorry, I forgot you were back there… or that you even existed anymore really. Thank you for deciding we were once again worthy of hearing your annoying voice.  Andy and I drive like this all the time Ben so you are completely safe. Just be happy we aren’t doing it in the front seat yet, right babe? Although, that still may happen so you might want to ride with your eyes closed the rest of the way. And don’t listen either, pervert.”

Ben slumped back in his seat in disgust. Out of all the people and places in Pawnee, why was he living with these two again? 

“Don’t worry bro, I’m totally skilled in the art of multiplicative tasking. You wouldn’t believe the things April and I have done in this car while we were driving – and in the backseat when we weren’t driving! Remember that time…”

Ben quickly shoved his earbuds in his ears and turned his IPod on as loud as he could stand in order to drown out the rest of whatever story was starting. He closed his eyes and got lost in the music, sincerely afraid to open them for fear April wasn’t lying about what might still go on in the seat in front of him. He’d heard and witnessed more than he already ever wanted to know about their sex life just from living with them. He didn’t need a front row seat to anymore things he’d never be able to un-see.

********************************************

The drive to the cabin was only about 45 minutes so Ben was barely able to calm himself down and relax before they pulled up to the cabin.  April smacked him in the leg “Come on loser, let’s go pick rooms before we get stuck having to share a room with Jerry or something.  Are you and your lover Chris going to bunk together?  Who spoons who when you’re sleeping anyway?”.

Ben ignored her, grabbed his bag and stepped out of the car.  He paused and looked out at the sight that unfolded in front of him. He had to admit, the view was breathtaking.

The cabin sat about a hundred yards off the lake, and a wooden walkway descended from it down toward the water.  There was a volleyball court off to the right, a fire pit down by the shore and horseshoes to the left.  The cabin had double wrap-a-round porches on the first and second floors, and a walk out smaller porch from the single room on the peaked third story. On the ground level, there were half a dozen Adirondack chairs scattered along the porches to sit on and enjoy the view as well as a hot tub in the far corner by what he assumed was the ground level master bedroom. The place was surrounded by wilderness and not another cabin was in sight.

Ben smiled as he imagined him and Leslie coming there alone, away from the campaign, Chris’s rules and the watchful eyes of their peers. He could picture her swimming in a bikini in the lake during the summer and being fiercely competitive at horseshoes.  He imagined being able to sit and enjoy the sunset on the porch and then take her into the hot tub, strip her down…

“This place is AWESOME! Ben, come on! Let’s go check out the inside” Andy’s voice woke him from his daydream and he shook those thoughts from his head. As great as that all sounded, he had to face the reality that all he had left were the dreams of what could have been. 

He followed April and Andy inside and met up with Chris and Ron in the kitchen unpacking exorbitant amounts of meat.

“Ben, this is literally the most amazing lakeside cabin I have ever seen! We are going to have such a memorable weekend here! Nice work my friend!” Chris grabbed his shoulder and squeezed. Ben managed a slight smile in return. Under any other circumstances, he would have agreed. But his definition of ‘memorable’ isn’t going to be the same as Chris’s.

Ben scanned the counter and all the various packages of hot dogs, hamburgers, ribs, steaks, and chicken. “Exactly how many people are we expecting this weekend?” 

Ron looked him with a deadpan stare, “I can guarantee you that none of this meat will go to waste.  I intend to have the grill going at all times and will not be wasting my time and energy foraging for berries from the woods or whatever you health nuts will be doing out there.” 

Ben nodded his head and turned to follow April and Andy’s voices to the back of the house. They had made it up to the second floor and were running in and out of the rooms. “No way, babe come here! This bedroom has a dead deer head on the wall! And a squirrel! Oh my God and a raccoon! We are totally taking this room! We can pretend we have an audience while we’re having sex!”

Ben immediately turned in the opposite direction, resolved to find a room as far away from them as possible. He remembered from the website that there were 7 bedrooms in the cabin, 2 downstairs, 4 on the second floor and a single room on the third floor. He looked at the 2 rooms downstairs. One was the large master bedroom with the hot tub off it, which he obviously didn’t need, and the other one was a cozy small room with a dresser and a full sized bed. Ben walked into the small one and set his bag down.  As he was unpacking, he heard a more voices coming from the front of the house. He didn’t hear Leslie’s voice yet so he figured Donna or Jerry had arrived and it was safe to come out. 

When he got reached the kitchen though, he was surprised to see Donna and Tom standing in there. “Hey Tom… um, why are you here? You know you don’t work for the Parks department anymore, right?”

“J-shot! You think I’d miss a free vacation weekend with all my best buds? Donna and I are going to go chillax with some drinks on the porch. When you get our bags could you just put them in the two most dope rooms and put DJ Roomba on so we can get this party started?”

Tom turned to high five Donna who glared Ben down when he tried to retort “I’m not your concierge Tom. And really, this isn’t a vacation, this is a work retreat and since you technically don’t even work at the office anymore… “ but neither were even listening to him any longer and were halfway out the door onto the porch with their drinks.

Ben shook his head and gave in. It would be easier to just go get the bags than it would be to argue with them.  He grabbed Donna’s keys off the counter and went outside to find her Mercedes.

When he opened the trunk he shouldn’t have been surprised at the amount of stuff they had brought, but it was shockingly full for a two day overnight. He thought back to Tom’s setup at the campground last spring and smiled. Hopefully he could use Tom’s room as a distraction. He had to admit, that tent had kicked ass until it drained the battery in Ron’s car and everything was useless.

He brought the first round of bags into the cabin and paused. Tom was an extra person he hadn’t accounted for. How were the rooms going to work now? He figured Leslie and Ann would share a room somewhere and that Chris had already nabbed the largest room next to his since he was the most senior employee of the group. April and Andy already claimed the dead animal room and since he hadn’t seen them in a while, assumed they were already performing for their audience ( _yuck_ ).

So, that left him, Ron, Jerry, Donna, Leslie/Ann and now Tom to fill the last five rooms. Donna was the only girl so she would obviously get a room to herself. He really didn’t want to share a room with anyone. He was the second most senior employee there so he was going to be strong on that decision and for once he was going to take what he wanted. The small victory felt grandiose in contrast to all the things he couldn’t control at the moment. He was afraid to pair up anyone with Ron, so that left Tom and Jerry sharing a room. He knew he was in for a rash of whining eventually, but he really didn’t care at that point. Tom was the least of his worries.

He carried the bags up the stairs, trying to ignore rhythmic pounding he heard against the wall in the far bedroom. He set Tom’s bags down in the first room he found that had two twin beds instead of one full sized bed. He set Donna up in the room between April and Andy’s and Tom’s. He assumed Ron had already taken the room on the third floor to be away from everyone. He was momentarily taken back though when he glanced in the last room and instead of finding it empty for Ann and Leslie to share, he saw rows of pill bottles neatly laid out on the dresser and various weights and workout gear on the bed.

It suddenly dawned on him that he had inadvertently set himself up next to the only open room left – Leslie and Ann’s. He rushed back into Donna’s room to grab the bag and switch it with his own, but when he turned back around, she was standing in the doorway.

“I just wanted to make sure you didn’t try to put Tom in a room with me. Girl needs some privacy with her reading materials if you know what I mean” she waggled her eyebrows at him. 

He cringed, ignoring her last statement, “Well, actually, I was just about to swap our rooms out so you could be downstairs in the room next to Ann and Leslie instead”, but Donna stopped him short with a hand in his face. “That is the smallest room in the house. Do I look like I should be in the smallest room? Besides, I don’t want to have to listen to Leslie and Ann giggling all night while they relive their teenage slumber party years.” 

Ben dropped her bags in defeat. It’s not like he could raise a fuss about it. What reason could he possibly give for not wanting to sleep in a room adjoining Leslie’s? 

“I’ll go get the rest of your bags.”

********************************************

The sun was starting to set by the time everyone had unpacked and the smoky smells of various meats were coming from the grill where Ron was stationed.  Chris had gone for an exploratory nature jog, Tom and Donna were sitting in the chairs on the porch sipping Margaritas, their heads bobbing to the sounds of DJ Roomba coming from inside the house. April and Andy still hadn’t reappeared from their bedroom, no one had seen or heard from Jerry yet, and Ann and Leslie still hadn’t arrived. Ben took a minute to himself to walk down past the fire pit and stand by the still waters of Patoka Lake.

The air was turning crisp and he shuddered a bit in his plaid flannel. He watched as some geese made their graceful decent onto the lake, as fish made rippling pools on top of the water while they surfaced for bugs, and took a moment to appreciate the sunset and sense of calm that washed over him.

He stood silently contemplating his life and the recent choices he had made. Quitting his job with the state, moving to Pawnee, starting a secret relationship with the most passionate, gorgeous, amazing woman he had ever met who had made him feel like he was on top of the world. But like anything good that entered his life, just as he started to trust it and rely on it, it was gone in the blink of an eye.  Everything had made sense when Leslie was the center of it all. She had made him feel like a whole person again. Her spirit and positivity had allowed a small town, failure of a mayor to feel like he had finally begun to made amends with his past self. Without her by his side, constantly telling him he was kind and smart and worthy, he could feel the self doubts creeping back in. Had he really changed or did she just make him want to believe everything she said about him?

He put his hands in his pockets and let out a deep breath. He had some scary choices to make in the near future. Could he stay in Pawnee when everywhere he went he was reminded of the strong, beautiful woman who had opened his eyes to it all? Did he want to stay and make a life in a place where he was constantly reminded that the woman he fell so deeply for couldn’t be his anymore?  
These were questions he was going to have to seriously consider, but for now, he pushed those thoughts aside and just appreciated the serenity that was laid out in front of him.

He was startled out of his reverie by the sound of a car door slamming. He heard Ann and Leslie’s voices coming down the path toward the cabin. He watched as everyone stood up and went over to greet them, helping them with their bags and showing them around the property. He saw her looking around past everyone until her eyes settled on the distant place where he remained rooted to the ground. She smiled and waved subtly at him and as he raised a few fingers back in her direction, as he felt his stomach drop and his heart leap into his throat.

His pulse raced as he took in the breathtaking sight before him. Her hair was in low pigtails, and she was dressed in jeans and a flannel shirt. He remembered her wearing the same shirt one night as she climbed into bed to snuggle up next to him. She hadn’t been wearing anything else at the time because he vividly remembered admiring the print out loud to her while his hand slowly slid underneath it and stroked up her thigh. He wondered for a moment if she wore it on purpose but quickly dismissed the thought. He had to get a hold of himself. There were a lot of people here and the last thing he wanted to do was make either of them uncomfortable to the point that others took notice.

He watched as she walked into the house, laughing and surrounded by her friends and made a decision.

He would do whatever it took to make it through this weekend without drawing attention to their situation, and on Monday he would call his old boss back at the statehouse and see if there was any chance his auditing position was still available; that things just didn’t work out the way he had hoped in Pawnee and it was time to move on.


	2. Chapter 2

Ben took one last look over the still waters in front of him and took a slow, cleansing breath.  He’d avoided Leslie as best he could for the last few weeks as the breakup emotionally took its toll on him. At first he had been so happy for her. His heart had swelled with adoration and awe as he stood in the crowd when she announced her candidacy, proudly wearing the pin he’d made for her.  Attached to his shirt had been the only duplicate; his way of showing his outward support as he secretly held on to the connection they had shared. 

He had briefly caught her eye as she scanned the crowd, and he smiled encouragingly at her as she glowed, taking in the applause of the townspeople who had turned up to support her. No one in Pawnee deserved this more than she did; he believed that with his whole heart. 

But, as happy as he was for her, as the days and weeks passed by and he found himself pushed further and further out of her life, he found himself falling into a depression he couldn’t control. The worse he felt, the more he distanced himself from her until he was so far removed that had to wonder if he’d imagined the connection he had been so sure they once shared. 

Maybe he had just been a fun fling for her, the excitement of the secrecy and early dating butterflies of someone new being easily replaced by the next riveting adventure. Other than a few lingering glances here and there, she appeared to have left him behind rather easily, the loss of their friendship seemingly the only void she carried. But he didn’t want to remain friends. That just wasn’t possible for him. Eventually he painfully admitted, as he struggled to find purpose again, that she had meant more to him than he had to her. And that cut through his heart like a jagged knife. 

Then, the night the Reasonablists had predicted to be the end of the world came, and for the first time since their breakup, he caught a glimpse that maybe Leslie was struggling too and had just been able to hide it better than him. But, as quickly as that moment came, it was gone when she showed up at his doorstep and told him Shawna thought he was cute. That she knew the romantic part of their relationship was over. He had to admit, it was like his chest had been hit by a freight train as he listened to her basically tell him she was ok with him dating someone else. 

When he had opened the door and she was standing there, for one hopeful moment, he dared think she was going to tell him she missed him and she wanted to be with him. That she’d made a huge mistake. But that’s just not how life works for Ben Wyatt.

Truthfully, he had never been interested in Shawna. It had just been refreshing to have a good looking woman flirt with him again. For the first time since the breakup, he saw a small light at the end of a very long tunnel. He had been, and still was, a long way from being ready to date again, but he was able to have a nice conversation with a pretty girl and not think about Leslie for a little while and that was encouraging in and of itself.

He turned back to look toward the cabin again, and gathered up the courage to return to the present. It was time to put on a brave face and pretend there had never been anything more than friendship between them. He had to put her ambitions ahead of his own feelings and make it through one last weekend with her so she could carry on without him and live out her life-long dream. 

He started to walk back toward the cabin and was immediately joined by an endorphin fueled Chris who came jogging out of the woods next to him. “That was such a fantastic run Ben! There is literally nothing but the beauty of nature surrounding us! You wouldn’t believe all the wonderful forest creatures I came across out there! I think we should all get up and take an early morning nature hike tomorrow to clear our minds and start off our day together. This place is magical Ben, I can feel it! By the end of this weekend, you and Leslie will be back to your old selves!  I have so many more projects on the horizon for my dynamic duo when we get back to Pawnee! I am going to make it my personal mission these next two days to mend your friendship.”

Ben froze and tried to quickly talk Chris out of that line of thinking. He figured the best approach was to just downplay what was really going on. 

“Really, Chris, that is not necessary.  Leslie and I have had our differences in the past but we have managed to work things out. Remember how much she hated me when we first got to Pawnee? Old feelings die hard sometimes. I’m sure this is just another phase of stubbornness and we’ll work it out. I may have jumped the gun and been a bit harsh in requesting that we not work together anymore…” 

Hopefully that would make Chris back off his fixation on pushing them together all weekend. Being around Leslie was going to drain him emotionally as it was, but having Chris forcing them together at every turn when he’s the reason they can’t be together in the first place almost made him laugh out loud at the insane irony of the situation.

“Ben, I hear what you are saying, but I have to disagree. I know how stubborn the two of you can get when you don’t get your way. I don’t know all the details of your falling out with Leslie, and really, those reasons are moot in the grand scheme of things. What I do know is that there is a major shift in the harmonious balance I’m used to between the two of you and I can’t just sit back and wait for the both of you to come to your senses and fix it yourselves. So, as your best friend and life-long mentor, I am here to help heal that bond and get the two of you back to being the amazing friends and even more spectacular colleagues you once were. And no thanks are necessary Ben; just know that I’m always here for you buddy!” 

Chris jogged up ahead of Ben toward the house and Ben stopped walking to compose himself and talk down the ire he felt building in his gut. Getting angry at Chris was not going to help his resolve in getting through the weekend. He knew Chris had only the best intentions for his actions. He knew that Chris genuinely cared about him and Leslie and that it was in his nature to want to mend their friendship. The truth was, before anything physical had happened between them, she _had_ been his best friend. Ben knew it was his own fault they were even in their current situation in the first place. Displacing his anger on Chris “being Chris” was not going to fix the fact that he had broken the rules. He made the first move with Leslie and had dug his own grave. The only one he should be angry at here was himself. 

He knew Leslie’s political aspirations from the day they had their first honest conversation at the bar the morning she yelled at him and called him a callous jerk. He should have just enjoyed how far they’d come from those first few months; the friendship and mutual respect that had grown between them considering their contemptuous start. He never should have crossed the line and risked it all by kissing her when they got back from Indianapolis.

Even if she hadn’t been asked to run for office, they would have eventually been in this same place anyway. They let their emotions override their intellect and foolishly threw caution to the wind to start something that had no possibility of ending well. He let down the guard he had put up for all those years of travelling and not allowing personal attachments in all those other towns.  He allowed himself to believe in an impossible situation instead of listening to the warning bells in his head, and it had cost him everything that he’d finally had good in his life. A stable job in the first place he wanted to call home since he fled Partridge.  The friendships within the Parks department that he truly felt were his own.  Chris was like a brother to him and that bond was inevitably going to be broken when he left Pawnee to go back to Indy without a real explanation so he could protect Leslie. And worst of all, it cost him the woman who he was quite sure was the love of his life, because he knew his feelings were too permanent and deep to allow him to forage any kind of friendship with her. He knew that in order to ever have a chance at moving forward with his life he would have to leave Leslie behind. He would need a lifetime to scar over the whole that would exist in his heart when he left a large piece of it in Pawnee.

“Ben! What are you doing?” He looked up and saw Chris calling to him from the porch, “Everyone’s eating! You’d better get up here before there’s none left!”  As unlikely as that seemed based on the amount of food he’d seen being prepared earlier, he had to admit he was starving. So he forced his legs to move against his will toward the place where inevitable agony awaited him.

********************************************

As he walked through the cabin doors the smell of grilled meat made his mouth water. He scanned the kitchen quickly for Leslie, but she must have been unpacking with Ann who was also nowhere around. He grabbed a paper plate and a burger, some potato salad and an ear of corn and walked out to the porch to sit on the Adirondack chairs and eat. April walked outside with her dinner a few minutes later and sat in the chair beside him. They ate in comfortable silence, the background noises in the house a jumble of muted voices, until she finally spoke.

“She’s hurting too you know.” 

Ben froze mid-bite and set his burger down. He didn’t acknowledge April verbally, but just hung his head and closed his eyes. Frankly, it didn’t surprise him that April knew. He did live with her after all so she knew there’d been many nights when he didn’t come home. And she was an extremely observant girl underneath her detached façade. He was, however, always surprised when April let down her guard and showed any compassion for others. Having it directed at him instead of her usual snark caught him at a loss for words. He feared opening his eyes that she might see the tears he felt behind his lids and simply nodded his head in understanding and thanks. He heard her chair push back and her footsteps disappear into the cabin.

He opened his eyes a few seconds later and blinked away the sting that threatened to break his rocky composure. If he had driven himself there, at this point he probably would have gotten up, walked to his car without saying a word to anyone, and just left, facing the consequences from Chris later. He was already tired and fighting a losing battle within himself and he hadn’t even actually been within a hundred yards of Leslie yet. He conceded that being alone with his thoughts might actually be worse than facing this whole situation head on at this point, so he ate the last bite of his burger, took one more admiring view at the sun descending over the lake and the spectacular colors framing the horizon, and walked toward the laughter he heard from within. 

********************************************

He stopped in the kitchen to throw away his plate and grab a beer from the fridge before entering into the main living area. The room was impressive with its vaulted ceilings; a pool table and dartboard on the left, a large rectangular dining table in front of him and a towering brick fireplace on the on the far wall.  Everyone was gathered on couches, recliners and chairs in front of the fireplace and Chris was standing in front of them all. “Ben, have a seat! We are about to start a riveting game of charades! Here, there’s room next to Leslie on the couch for you if she scoots closer to Ann!” He motioned to Leslie to slide over and gestured to Ben to take a seat.

Ben, while having pep-talked himself fleetingly on the way into the room enough to finally be in her general presence, was not at all ready to be pressed up against her on the small couch. “Uh…that’s ok Chris, I don’t want to crowd them. I’ll just pull up a chair from the table over here.” He was already sliding the chair to the other end of the couch where Ann sat, being careful not to catch Leslie’s eye as he saw her whip her head around when Chris announced his entrance. 

Chris looked momentarily disappointed that his initial attempt to get the two of them near each other had failed, but he rebounded back with his usual vigor. 

“Ok, let’s split up into teams. I knew there was going to be an uneven number of us, so I already planned to host since I wrote up the clues and can’t fairly be involved in the game anyway. Leslie, Ann, Ben and Ron, you’re on one team, Tom, Donna, April and Andy you are on the other.” Chris split the room in half based on where they were already sitting, and Ben suspected it was also to make sure he and Leslie at least worked on the same team after Chris was unsuccessful in getting them to sit next to one another. 

“Ron, you’re up first! Come up here and pick the first clue!” Ron’s face turned into a grimace as he swirled his whisky and drank the remaining inch of liquor in one gulp before slowly standing up and reaching into the word bucket. 

“Wait! Before we start, let’s make sure the rules are clear.” Chris held his hand over Ron’s to stop him from opening the clue, which caused Ron to grimace and jerk his hand away. 

“Let’s remember this is a team building exercise, which is why we are all here this weekend; everyone must participate and shout out guesses. When it’s your turn to be up front, you can either act out your clue or draw on the whiteboard behind me. You are not allowed to speak or make any noises of any kind. We are going to focus all our energy on the person whose turn it is and work as a team to encourage their efforts and try to guess their clue. In the case no one on your team guesses the correct answer; the other team can huddle together and try to come up with their best guess. Remember, the theme is ‘Everything Pawnee’! Ok! Everyone ready?“

Out of the corner of his eye, Ben saw Leslie head turn in his direction glaring at the other team and watched her competitive self take over. “We are going to crush you guys! You don’t stand a chance! No one knows more about Pawnee than I do, so suck it!”

Chris scolded her, “Leslie, this is a team building exercise! Even though you are technically on different sides at the moment, you are still all part of the Parks Department team and we should all be wishing each other good luck!” Leslie mumbled something under her breath at Chris that Ben couldn’t quite catch, but Ann patted her hand and reminded her quietly that not everything had to be a fight to the death. 

Ben almost smiled, remembering the night they had played an erotic game of strip poker where clearly there would be no losers regardless of the outcome. As they peeled each other’s clothes off with every completed hand (his idea since he couldn’t stand going that long in her presence without actually touching her), inch after inch of exposed skin had caused him to lose sight of the game and focus solely on all the places he was aching to attach his lips, to press himself up against. As she sat in nothing but her lacy underwear, which he was convinced she had purposely put on to distract him, he had found himself missing obvious plays and folding more than he should have. She, however, had stayed focused and ruthless. Threatening him bodily harm and heckling him the whole time. He knew more than anyone that there was no distracting or reigning in ‘game mode’ Leslie.

“Let’s get started! Ok, you guys have 1 minute to guess Ron’s clue” Chris glanced at his watch,”… and… ok… go!” 

Ron unfolded the piece of paper and Ben thought he noticed a slight twitch in Ron’s mustache, followed by glassiness in his eyes. He must have imagined it. The only time he’d seen Ron cry since he’d known him was…

”L’il Sebastian!!!” 

Leslie leapt up and screamed, causing everyone in the room to jump. She turned around and high fived Ann, triumphantly glanced at the other team in an overzealous victory stance, and let her gaze rest briefly on Ben while she sat back down.

“Correct”, Ron mumbled and walked away, grabbing his empty glass and walking toward the kitchen to get a refill and compose himself.

“Leslie!” Chris gushed, “that was amazing! One point for team Ron!”

She corrected Chris immediately with a confident smirk, “You mean team Leslie.”

Ben smiled for what felt like the first time that day.

“Ok team… Donna?” Chris guessed based on a cursory glance at the opponents on the other side of the room. April looked up as if to counter that, but Donna shot her down with one glare. April returned to picking at her nails.

“Ooh, ooh, can I go first??” Andy jumped up off the couch and ran toward Chris.

“That’s the spirit!” Chris beamed at Andy’s enthusiasm, “Yes, of course you can go first!”

Andy reached his hand into the bucket and fished around much longer and more exaggerated than was necessary. He pulled out a clue, cracked his next back and forth, and opened it up. His face lit up and his mouth formed an ‘O’ as he nodded toward Chris to begin.

“OK, ready… go!”

Andy ran over to Tom and April and dragged them out of their seats and placed them side by side in front of the fireplace. He shoved Chris between them and ran to the far end of the room where he grabbed an ax that was hung decoratively on the cabin wall. He manically ran toward them with his mouth wide open in a silent scream. Tom let out a high pitched screech and Chris stood frozen looking horrified while April smirked with an almost lustful expression in her eyes. Donna sat forward on the edge of her seat fascinated, and Leslie started bouncing up and down on the couch, the answer clearly ready to explode out of her mouth. Ann leaned back in her seat wide eyed and Ben jumped out of his chair and stood behind the couch.  Andy ran around with the ax and then suddenly dropped it, pointing wildly back and forth between Tom and April. He then ran to the other side of the room where he swiped the swizzle stick sword out of Tom’s drink and again charged at the helpless victims in the middle, appearing to gallop at them with his mouth wide open in another manic attack.

April smiled devilishly and answered “Our honeymoon?” just as Chris called time. 

“Wow,” he shuddered, clearly confused and uncomfortable at the mayhem that had ensued. “Andy, I must give you get an A+ for effort! That was literally the most amazing, and equally the most terrifying, performance I have ever seen in a game of charades. I’m assuming the answer was not ‘your honeymoon’ as your lovely wife answered at the buzzer, since I know that was not one of the choices I wrote up.” 

He turned in Ben’s direction, “Ok, team Leslie, it is your turn to…”

“The gazebo mural where the Wamapoke Indian married the white woman and it ended up in a bloody massacre!” Leslie shouted out before Chris could even finish his sentence. 

Andy clapped and Leslie bowed, “seriously Andy that was awesome! How did you guys not guess that? Apparently I was right at the start…” Chris shot her a warning glance and she slumped into her seat “you’re sucking all the fun out of this game” she seethed at him. 

Chris ignored her and turned back to team Leslie. “Two points for team Leslie, zero for team Donna. Ben, you’re up!”

Ben was momentarily lost in the excitement of Andy’s insanity, and felt a small panic creep up as he walked toward Chris. He reached his hand in the bucket and pulled out a clue. He unwrapped it and felt like he was going to be sick. It was a drawing of the ‘KNOPE 2012’ campaign button he’d had specially made for Leslie and slid across the table to her as he broke up with her. The room seemed to spin sideways as Ben tried to reorient himself. 

“You ok buddy? You don’t look so good.” Chris grabbed his arm, but Ben managed to compose himself and shook him off.

“I’m… I’m fine.”

“All right, 1 minute Ben… and… go!”

Ben looked up and caught Leslie’s concerned gaze. He turned away from her and picked up the pen to write on the board behind Chris.

He slowly began to draw. First a sunshine in the corner, and then a podium on a stage.  He paused briefly before he continued, silently willing the sudden tremor in his hand from becoming any more noticeable. When he continued, he began to draw a figure with long hair standing behind a microphone, a huge smile on her face. Then, he drew a crowd of people’s hands clapping at the bottom of the page. Everyone remained silent as he put the finishing touches on the drawing. He drew a circle on the woman’s shirt and some scribbles for words and then an arrow pointing right at it.

Everyone was still when Ben turned around, capping the pen. Ron stood frozen on at the back of the room, a new whisky in one hand and a Miller Lite for Ben in the other, a worried look spreading across his furrowed brow. Ann turned to Leslie with a pained expression on her face while Leslie locked eyes with Ben.

“My ‘Knope 2012’ button” she squeaked out as her breath hitched. Ben nodded silently through pursed lips and set the pen down, never breaking their eye contact. He smiled a small sad smile in return and sat back down in his seat.

“Great job Ben!” Chris exclaimed, oblivious to the tension that had filled the air. He gave Ben a thumbs up and clearly was trying to congratulate him on the connection he and Leslie just shared in coming up with the correct answer.  Ben was thankful for once for Chris’s detachment from the obvious and gave him an insincere thumb up in return. 

Completely missing the sarcasm in Ben’s less than genuine gesture, Chris transitioned easily back into the game and turned back to Team Donna.

“You guys have some serious catching up to do! These guys are on fire over here!”

Ben happened a glace back at Leslie whose spirit had noticeably deflated. Ann was holding her hand as she was not so subtly struggling to compose herself. Fearing that she would be unable to keep it together in front of Chris, he quickly spoke up to cover for her.

“Hey Chris, why don’t we take a break? I’m sure we could all use a chance to get up and stretch.”

“Are you just saying that because your team is winning?” He winked at Ben. “Just kidding, of course we should take a minute to stretch our muscles and use the facilities. As you and Leslie know, my bladder is literally the size of a pea.” 

Chris scampered off down the hall while Ben grimaced at the reference to the night he and Leslie had had to stay in Chris’s apartment and had been frustratingly interrupted by Chris’s inhuman bathroom needs. He thought back to that night and how ecstatic he’d been to finally have confirmation that it wasn’t just him; that she shared his feelings too. How badly he’d just wanted to feel her lips finally on his after months of longing to touch her. 

He saw Ann talking in a hushed voice to Leslie on the couch while she nodded her head and blinked quickly to halt the tears he knew were forming.

That was too close. They may have gotten away with foolishly wearing their emotions on their sleeves this time, but Chris wasn’t completely unaware. He would catch on eventually that this wasn’t just some work-related disconnect if they didn’t figure out a way to make it through the weekend without one of them breaking down.

He stood up impulsively and walked over to where Ann and Leslie were seated. 

“Leslie,” her head snapped up at the sound of his voice, “will you take a walk with me, please?” His eyes pleaded with hers. 

“Ben, I’m not sure Leslie should do that right now.” 

Leslie turned to Ann and flashed her a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes and patted Ann’s leg. “It’s ok. I’ll be fine.” She turned back to Ben and stood up and followed him out the back door of the cabin. 

Ann looked to Ron concerned, but he shook his head, almost unnoticeably, silently reassuring her they needed this and she shouldn’t intrude. April was still as she watched the whole exchange from the other side of the room, worried for her friends but outwardly remaining bored and uninterested in what was going on around her. Andy and Tom were back to reenacting the war scene from the mural and didn’t catch any part of the bigger picture that enveloped the room around them. 

Donna, however, pondered the sudden change in mood as she sat back and took in the worried facial expressions of her colleagues. No one paid her any attention as the pieces began quickly falling into place. She raised her eyebrows as everything suddenly clicked. Ben alone on the bench eating soup looking like his puppy just died. His breakdown at the mall in the Batman suit. His acknowledgement that he’d been seeing someone recently but it had ended. The timing of his and Leslie’s friendship crumbling as she launched her campaign. She scolded herself for being so preoccupied with her own personal life lately that she had completely missed all the warning signs around her. Deciding there was no need to let anyone know she was onto their situation, she tucked that newly formed bit of knowledge into the recesses of her brain and didn’t say a word.


	3. Chapter 3

Leslie followed him silently as they descended the outside stairs toward the lake. Ben kept his head down and remained a few steps ahead of her, leading her to seclusion just off the main property. When he was sure they were safely out of earshot of their friends, he turned to look at her for the first time since he’d asked her to join him.

Their eyes locked and he knew, without a doubt, that he was wearing his heart on his sleeve. Leslie looked back at him with nervous anticipation. He lost himself in her blue eyes for a moment, until, as if led by a powerful magnet, his gaze shifted down to rest upon her lips. They were pouty and dry from the cool chill of the night, and all he could think was that he wanted to run his thumb across them and then wet them with his tongue, suck on them until they were plump and glistening.

They were alone together for the first time in weeks. He was lost in the feeling of once again being close enough to reach out and touch her. When he returned his smoldering look back to a more appropriate location, he had an overpowering urge to tell her he was in love with her. He almost couldn’t stop it from rushing out of his mouth as naturally and automatic as taking a breath. He swallowed hard, as if to push it back down inside and bury it from being allowed to resurface again. Brokenhearted declarations of love were not going to solve anything. Forcing himself to break eye contact with her to get a grip on his emotions, he dropped his gaze down to his feet and mustered up the courage to begin.

“I know this is the first time we have spent any significant amount of time together since we broke up, and I’m sorry if I’m making this uncomfortable for you. I don’t want to lie to you and just pretend I’m OK because clearly, I’m not. I know I’ve avoided you at work whenever possible, but that’s just my defense mechanism as I figure out how to be around you without wanting to be with you. Please understand I don’t hate you for running for office Leslie. I think you will be an amazing City Councilwoman and I’m so proud of you for following your dreams. But just because I know we had to end things so you could have that doesn’t mean I can just turn off my feelings for you that easily.”

He looked up and almost broke when he saw the tears welling up in Leslie’s eyes. She pursed her lips together and nodded her head. She remained silent while he continued.

“You mean the world to me Leslie, and I’m sorry that I can’t just set aside everything I still feel for you and ease back into a platonic friendship with you like we had before things… happened between us.“

Ben paused as he prepared to reveal the harsh truth of the weekend trip, “but… Chris has noticed that things have changed between us.” Leslie’s face looked panicked as he forged ahead. “It’s OK. He doesn’t suspect that we were together. At least, I’m not getting that vibe from him at all. But, he is onto the fact that we aren’t friends anymore.“

Ben paused. He didn’t have the heart to tell her he had requested they not work together any longer. He didn’t think that part of the story was relevant or necessary given his current objective.

“This retreat was initiated with one purpose in mind. Chris can’t deal with the disconnect within his ‘dream team’. His sole mission this weekend is to mend our friendship and our working relationship. I lied and tried to assure him we were just at a momentary crossroads; that old habits from the days when I first arrived in town and we fought tooth and nail sometimes resurfaced. But he was insistent that he could mend whatever was broken between us by forcing us to spend time together.”

The irony of the situation wasn’t lost on her and she let out a sad chuckle.

“Leslie, if we don’t figure out a way to pretend that everything is fine, he’s going to throw us together every possible chance he gets to try to mend it himself. You know Chris. He’s relentless in the pursuit of other people’s happiness. I don’t think either of us wants to be put in that position right now. So the only solution I think we have to save our jobs and your campaign is to try to remember the times when things were a lot simpler between us. Let’s try to focus on that for the next two days and do our best to act like nothing else ever happened or Chris is going to figure it out and everything is going to be a whole lot worse.”

Leslie took a breath to speak, but paused before she replied; taking a second to process everything Ben had just confessed.

“Wow. I had no idea we have been that transparent. You’re right, Ben,” his name spoken aloud from her lips hauntingly seductive and intimate to him, “We haven’t been ourselves around each other, and given the friendship we had before, I can see how our avoidance of each would raise questions from the others.” She bit her lip and thought for a brief moment.

“OK, here’s what we do. We were amazing friends once right? Let’s just forget anything romantic ever happened between us. I mean that part of our relationship is over now anyway so dwelling on it isn’t going to help anything. We can just put all our energy into being friends!” Leslie smiled brightly at him, “I think we should team up for the rest of this trip and focus on just kicking everyone else’s ass in all of Chris’s activities. Everything will be back to normal! It’s a win, win, win! Chris is happy, we win at everything because we’re unstoppable together and I really hate to lose, and you and I get to hang out and be best friends again… well except for Ann, obviously, but she’s my best girl friend and I can have two best friends, right! You’ll be my best guy friend! Great idea Ben!”

His heart leapt into his throat as she so easily brushed away any thoughts of them ever having been more to each other. He desperately searched her face for any inkling that she missed more than just their friendship, but she was so excited about her plan that she was just giddy and grinning from ear to ear.

She held his gaze as he took a minute to let the reality of their situation sink in. He knew the tight lipped smile he forced didn’t at all match the level of enthusiasm she had exuded. He watched as the smile in her eyes diminished slightly, but she stubbornly still held firm to the one on her lips and reached out her right hand, “So… you ready to be friends with me again?”

He couldn’t rein his emotions in fast enough. He didn’t want to touch her, afraid he would reach for her hand to shake it and instead hold on for dear life and pull her against him and not be able to let go. His fingers ached to reach out and stroke her cheek, to gently cup her face. To assure her that he could do this for her.

As he stood before her, alone with her for the first time since that night at the gas station when he told her he needed space, all he could think about was how beautiful she looked standing before him in the moonlight. How desperately he wanted to take her in his arms and kiss her, to feel her body against his own again. That nothing had changed or gotten easier for him and he was afraid it never would as long as she was in his life in any way. That watching her launch her campaign without him by her side to help and support her had devastated him. He felt like he was an afterthought, something she had tried and cast aside when a better opportunity had presented itself.

He didn’t have the heart to tell her that she didn’t quite grasp that them foraging a friendship was for appearances only. That beyond this weekend his days in Pawnee may be numbered and even if he stayed in Pawnee, he was far from being able to truthfully have that with her again.

But instead of clarifying and destroying the delicate truce they had reached, he gathered up all the courage he could muster, smiled weakly back at her and reached out a shaky hand in return. “Friends.”

Their hands remained interlocked for a beat longer than was needed for a simple handshake, and just as Ben was fearing his resolve was starting to crumble and he was about to do something he was already regretting, the sudden churning of gravel accompanied by the emergence of headlights broke them out of the moment, their contact lost as they slowly let go of each other’s hands. They traded looks of confusion as to who would be driving up to the cabin at that hour and quickly started up back toward the house.

When they entered, Jerry was standing in the kitchen looking completely disheveled and apologizing profusely for his late arrival.

Ann turned to them as they entered, “Look Leslie, Jerry’s here! Now you can stop being so worried about what took him so long and why we couldn’t get a hold of him…” Leslie immediately took the bait, “yeah… wow Jerry you really gave us quite a scare!” She looked around hoping others would play along. No one else had realized he was missing either as was evident on all their guilty faces.

“Gosh Leslie, I’m really sorry to make you worry so much! It’s just… I forgot the directions at home and when I tried to call Gayle I realized my phone had died and instead of grabbing my phone charger I had grabbed the computer cord. I thought I could remember how to get here but I got lost and then I drove around for so long trying to remember the name of the street to turn onto from the highway that I ran out of gas. I sat on the side of the road for 20 minutes before I could flag down a car to help me and then I had to wait another half an hour for the Road Rangers to bring me gas and luckily they told me how to get here. So, I know this is our first night here and I’m really excited to get cracking on all the team building fun, but if you don’t mind, I am just exhausted and would really like to turn in and get a good night sleep.”

Leslie nodded in full agreement and led Jerry away by the arm. “Of course Jerry, we completely understand. You should definitely turn in early, you look terrible. Ben, which room is Jerry’s?”

“Upstairs, third room on the left. He’s sharing with Tom.” Leslie and Jerry headed toward the stairs.

“What?? Noooooo! I don’t want to share a room with Jerry! Ben, I thought we were buds! How could you do this to me??”

“Tom, you aren’t even supposed to be here!”

“Ben, let’s talk about this. I believe that since I’ve known everyone on this trip longer than you have I should have my choice of sleeping arrangements. I also think that since you planned this trip and didn’t get a big enough house to fully accommodate everyone that you should be the one to have to stay in a room with Jerry as punishment for not being good at your job.“

Ben’s nerves were shot from everything that had happened that day and Tom was the unfortunate trigger for the dam to finally break.

“Tom, you are more than welcome to sleep on the couch, in a tent or in Donna’s Mercedes for all I care, but I am not giving up my room because you show up unannounced, and expect preferential treatment! Your ‘friendship’ with everyone here does not outrank the fact that I am the second most senior employee – did you hear that Tom – EMPLOYEE – at this cabin and you are either going to go sleep in that room with Jerry or take it upon yourself to quietly figure out other arrangements!”

“Damn Ben, what’s gotten into you tonight? You’re all sorts of uptight! When is the last time you got laid man? Relax. I’ll bunk with Jerry if it’s that important to you. Just bring it down a few notches ok?” Tom leaned toward Ben and continued, “…but when we get back to Pawnee, Jean Ralphio and I are going to take you out and find you some much needed stress release and I am not taking no for an answer.”

Ben shook his head in disgust. “Yeah, that is definitely not going to happen.”

********************************************

Leslie came back down the stairs a few minutes later, missing the whole scene between Tom and Ben who had moved to different sides of the room.

She whispered aghast to anyone who was listening around her. “Nice cover Ann you sneaky arctic fox. Way to think on your feet!”

Ann smiled and drank in the complement,” Thanks Leslie. It’s a good thing you came in when you did; he caught us all completely off guard! I mean, I know it’s Jerry, but how did no one notice he wasn’t here?”

Everyone in the room shrugged and mumbled offhanded complaints about Jerry as they began to disperse into different areas of the cabin. Chris tried to gather everyone back into to the fireplace to continue their game of charades, but the moment had passed and no one wanted to play anymore. Noting the time, Chris instead offered everyone a reprieve for the remainder of the evening.

“That was a great warm-up exercise to kick-start our spirits for all the fun things I have planned for us for tomorrow! Ron and Ann have graciously offered to cook us breakfast in the morning before our hike, so I suggest we all turn in early and get a restful night’s sleep!” Chris left the rest of the department and bounded up the stairs two at a time.

Ron saluted everyone and turned to follow his lead. Donna announced she had some reading to catch up on and that no one better dare disturb her, Tom was just happy to return to his electronics. April turned to Andy, transforming into Janet Snakehole and cackling something in Spanish as Bert Macklin shouted he was hot on her trail and she couldn’t escape his FBI intelligence. They laughed all the way up the stairs and slammed the door behind them.

Ann turned uncomfortably away from Ben and Leslie, who were the only others left downstairs. She said goodnight quietly and shut the bedroom door behind her.  
Ben and Leslie turned to one another, Ben struggling to part from her and walk into his separate bedroom. He was all too aware that this was the first night they spent in the same house not wrapped in each other’s arms, sighs and moans engulfing them while their bodies peaked in ecstasy.

Leslie smiled softly at Ben, “I guess I’ll turn in too. Thanks for having my back tonight and being honest with me about everything. Repairing our friendship after all we’ve shared means more to me than you know.” Ben’s insides twisted at her nonchalant reference to the small piece of their relationship she was hoping to retain as she turned and walked toward her room.

She grinned over her shoulder at him as she opened the door and stepped inside. “Goodnight Ben.”

He flashed a half-hearted smile back at her as she shut the door behind her. “Goodnight Leslie” he sighed before heading for his own adjoining room, certain that his inevitably sleepless night would be anything but.

********************************************

Ben awoke from a predictably restless sleep to the smell of bacon and coffee wafting in from the kitchen. He rolled onto his back and silently cursed the dreams that had reunited him and Leslie while he slept. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes as he stretched his aching limbs and returned his mind to the reality of the present and the agony of the day ahead. As practical as their solution to the weekend had sounded to them both the night before, putting their plan into action and pretending they were back to being the friends Chris needed to believe they were was not going to be easy for him.

Flashes of Leslie being naked on top of him, underneath him, on her knees in front of him and on her back on her bed as he feasted on her sweetness plagued his now conscious self. His dreams had been too real, too graphic and she had been just on the other side of the wall, unaware, as he had ravished her throughout the night. He felt guilty for thinking about her that way even though he had no control over where his sleeping mind wandered.

He looked down to the tenting of the blanket across his waist and cringed at the enormous hard-on he had woken with. He didn’t want to think about her sexually anymore now that he was up and had the ability to reign in his subconscious desires, but he was painfully hard and he knew himself well enough to acknowledge reality. He was either going to have to lay in bed for at least the next 20 minutes battling thoughts of her naked form moving against him while begging for the throbbing to subside, or he could just give in and take care of the situation, reveling in the images in his brain for just a few minutes more and praying that it would appease his physical need for her long enough to make it through the rest of the day in her presence.

He cursed his inability to control his longing for her asleep or awake as his right hand slid under the sheets.

********************************************

By the time he emerged showered and dressed a little while later, the cabin was buzzing with activity. Chris had just returned from taking one of the canoes for a chilling sunrise row, and was headed to take a shower. Plates filled with eggs, bacon and toast were being dished onto the breakfast island by Ann while Ron manned the stove.

A second pot of coffee was just finishing brewing, and as his gaze settled on Leslie, he couldn’t help but grin and shake his head at the predictability of her at the end of the counter busy making waffles in an iron he recognized as her own. The image that took shape of her standing in her kitchen wearing only his button-down as she paddled around barefoot making him waffles and humming to herself was like a dagger through his heart. The urge to walk up behind her and wrap his arms around her middle, nuzzle her neck and whisper good morning to her was so powerful he had to turn quickly away from her and step outside into the fresh air.

He watched as his breath exited his mouth in rapid bursts, coming to life in the crisp air of the morning. It was cooler than he expected considering the weekend was forecast to be unseasonably mild for this time of year. He listened for a moment to the silence of the morning, void of the sound of the bustling noises of Pawnee. The occasional songbird called out from the trees and Ben found momentary peace in the tranquility of his surroundings as he prepped himself to return to the torment that awaited him back inside.

He stayed on the porch until the chill was too much to bear in his under-dressed state. He walked back into to the kitchen and set a direct path to the coffee machine, not daring another glance in Leslie’s direction.

He saw her turn her head in his direction as he quickly grabbed a plate of eggs and took his coffee into the dining area where Donna and Tom were already finishing up their meals. He couldn’t shake the inappropriateness of his early morning actions just yet to face her, so instead he sat down with them welcoming the distraction.

“I don’t know what your man Traeger has in store for us so early in the morning, but I am not setting foot outside today until it gets at least 20 degrees warmer out there.” Donna glared at Ben before he even had a chance to pick up his fork.

“Honestly, I don’t have a clue what he has planned for any part of today, Donna. I heard him mention something about an early morning hike before he went to bed last night, so I’m assuming that’s first on our list once we’re done eating.”

“Then eat slow skinny boy. And get seconds. Stall that human robot as long as you can. This is way too early for any rational person to be doing anything physical other than having sex.”

Tom laughed and fist-bumped Donna and Ben choked on his coffee as Leslie and Ann came in to join them.

Leslie patted him on the back and he stilled at her slight touch. “You ok? What’d I miss?”

“Nothing you need to worry your pretty little head over,” Donna said as she stood up, “Enjoy your whipped cream.”

Leslie sat her plate of waffles overflowing with whipped cream down at the table. She flashed a bright smile at Ben as if last night’s talk had miraculously fixed everything between them. There was no hesitation in her movement as she sat down closer than necessary on the bench beside him and grabbed a piece of bacon off his plate.

Ann shot her a cautionary glance that was received only by Ben as she slowly sat across from them next to Tom.

“I always knew you’d look this hot first thing in the morning. “ Tom slid over next to her, put his chin on his fists and outwardly ogled Ann.

“Seriously? You’re going to hit on me while I’m trying to eat breakfast? Move over or I will stab you with this fork.”

“She is a beautiful morning dove when she wakes up isn’t she?” Leslie agreed as she shoved an enormous forkful of waffle into her mouth.

Ben almost reflexively wiped a large smear of whipped cream off the corner of her lip but caught himself quickly. Instead, he watched as her tongue darted out of her mouth and licked it off instead. He flashed back to that tongue doing all sorts of things to him in his dreams the night before and quickly looked away. Apparently this weekend ‘friendship’ was going to be a lot easier for her to manage than for him.

Leslie had of course woken up alive and ready to take on the day.

“I can’t wait to get out into the fresh air and go explore the woods! Did you know we may be able to see bald eagles and river otters?!”

She placed her hand haphazardly on his arm as she continued to gush about the various wildlife and nature trails she’d researched online prior to coming there for the weekend. Ben’s skin burned under her fingers but he did his best to ignore it since she seemed back to her normal, overeager self around him and that would make Chris think his plan was working.

As natural as possible, Ben shied away from her hold on him as he stood up, “I don’t know if either of you have been outside yet, but I’m not exactly dressed for this weather. I’m going to go put on a sweatshirt and see if Chris is ready to head out.”

********************************************

Twenty minutes and a lot of complaining later, everything was cleaned up and the group were gathered outside on the porch listening to Chris’s pep talk.

“The purpose of this hike is to jump start our bodies with a brisk walk and get the blood flowing through our veins so we are warmed up for all the exciting things I have planned for the afternoon! On my canoe excursion this morning I saw literally dozens of amazing creatures out and about. Let’s try to focus solely on our surroundings and report back here in an hour with stories of the wondrous visions of nature we encounter on our journeys.”

He scanned the group in front of him, “Let’s split up into groups of 3.”

Ron spoke up first, “I will take Donna and Tom and walk North along the lake shore.”

Chris was outwardly surprised and encouraged by Ron taking initiative, his grin stretching from ear to ear, “That’s the spirit Ron!”

“Ben, why don’t you team up with Ann and Leslie and head West; April, Andy and Jerry you guys go East; here’s a compass for each of you in case you get turned around. I’m going to stay back and get things ready for when you return – let’s say an hour from now? OK, now get out of here and have fun!”

Chris turned and ran back up toward to cabin as the rest of them parted into the woods. Ben noticed Ron, Tom and Donna hang back until Chris was inside and they quickly headed back toward the stairs leading to the house. He was about to say something to them when Tom and Donna reappeared with folding chair bags, backpacks and large mugs and Ron followed close after them with a fishing pole and tackle box. Donna raised her eyebrows as if to challenge him to say a word to them, but he merely shrugged, shook his head and headed in the direction where Ann and Leslie had already gone.

He jogged a couple yards to catch up to them, but was quickly grabbed by Leslie and shushed, “Listen, do you guys hear that??”, she pulled out a pen and a folded up piece of paper from her pocket and unfolded it. Ben watched in awe as he realized what she was holding.

“So I printed out a list with pictures and descriptions of all of the wildlife, foliage and various artifacts they may encounter on our walk...” Leslie looked into the wide eyed expressions of her companions and shrugged, “I didn’t have a binder small enough to fit in my pocket so I compromised.”

She handed each of them a copy, “I’ll keep the master checklist. These are just for your reference. I’ve rated everything from 1 to 5 in terms of how rare it is to find each so we know if we’ve stumbled across something extra exciting!”

Ben scanned the list of items and their descriptions Leslie had given him.

Peony – state flower, Tulip tree – aka honey tree (classified as 1’s); Cardinal – state bird, Limestone – state stone (classified as 2’s); he skipped to the bottom of the page to see the 5’s, Wild Turkeys, Bald Eagles, Freshwater Jellyfish and…

“Bobcats?!” He looked up at Leslie and Ann with a look of sheer terror on his face.

Leslie laughed and poked his side, “Awww, are you afraid of a little kitty cat Ben?”

“Leslie, a bobcat is hardly a little kitty cat! They are fierce and terrifying and their claws look like Wolverine’s…”

Leslie laughed at him, “Ben, is this like that cop thing? Because you aren’t afraid of raccoons and they are 100x’s more terrifying than a silly little bobcat.”

Ben opened his mouth but stifled his words. Leslie smiled, teasing him and nudged his shoulder. “Come on, we only have an hour to find all this stuff!”

She hooked arms with Ann and started off. He watched as she started pointing at different plants immediately as she and Ann walked side by side, arms linked. He was suddenly jealous of the close physical proximity and general ease of the two best friends. He watched as Leslie leaned into Ann as she pointed at a flowering plant just off the trail and took out her list to check something off. Ben heard a noise in the distance and froze. He was alarmingly on edge about the whole bobcat situation, but almost welcomed the shift in emotion away from the ache he couldn’t stop from occurring in her presence.

“Ben! We found a Winged Loosestrife! Come look!”

Ben had no idea if that was a plant, animal or an insect, but she didn’t say bobcat so he figured it really didn’t matter. He smiled at her boundless enthusiasm for any task given to her (even though they are usually self-imposed) and joined her and Ann.

He lost himself in her orbit for a while, listening to her excitement for everything she found from her list, and just the natural high she always got from being outside, surrounded by nature. The three of them settled into a jovial camaraderie and he found himself relaxed and happy for the first time in a very long time.

Sure there were occasional pangs of sadness when she would get too close to him and he had to physically restrain himself from reaching out to hold her hand or put his arm around her shoulder. There were admittedly a few times she bent over in front of him to look at something and his mind threatened to wander into forbidden territory. And there were also times when she would stop suddenly and turn her body toward him, excited to share some random fact or observation, and the sunlight would hit her hair just right and he thought she looked positively angelic. But, he still enjoyed being able to just be around her once again and feel something other than constant heartache.

********************************************

It was closer to an hour and a half later when they arrived back at the cabin, Leslie broke away from their threesome and bounded up to Chris, eager to show him her list of everything they’d found.

Ann took a minute to glance over at Ben, “Hey, how are you holding up?”

He shrugged, “OK I guess,” but when he looked over at her sympathetic expression, he guiltily changed his answer, “no, that’s not really true. Mostly I’m terrible.”

She frowned and patted his arm, pondering her next sentence carefully before offering Ben some much needed insight into post-breakup Leslie.

“She’s putting on a brave face and doing everything in her power to soldier on Ben. She spends every waking minute running full speed ahead with her campaign or her Parks work, because if she doesn’t, she will have to face the other pieces of her life that she is ignoring, and I know that terrifies her. Don’t think for one second that she’s anywhere near being okay with your breakup. She just has her own, unhealthy ways of not dealing with it.”

Ben took comfort in Ann’s words. It didn’t fix anything or change anything about their situation really, but it was reassuring to know that maybe he had at least meant something to her. That their relationship hadn’t been as one sided as he had feared. That he wasn’t the only one pining for the impossible.

He sighed in relief at the words he’d longed to hear for weeks. “Thank you Ann, really, that means a lot to me.”

She smiled sadly at him. “You’re a great guy Ben, I’m really sorry things worked out the way they did for you two.” She left him standing by the clearing to the property and headed toward Leslie and Chris.


	4. Chapter 4

Ben heard Chris calling to everyone to gather around him by the clearing near the lake, and for the first time since he returned with Ann and Leslie, he took a minute to glance around at everyone around him. April and Andy were whispering and laughing together just to his left and gesturing across the sand. He saw noticeable grass stains all over Andy’s shirt and twigs and leaves in April’s hair. When he shifted his gaze in the direction they had been pointing, he was horrified to see Jerry’s face painted in what appeared to be some sort of black paint. He looked absolutely ill, had sweated through his flannel shirt and his pants were soaked and full of mud. He was sitting on a log by the fire pit trying to catch his breath.

Ben looked back to April in horror, but she just shrugged “We hunted Jerry while we were gone. I told him his only chance of survival was to camouflage his face in black in order to blend into his surroundings.“

Andy laughed, “It’s actually shoe polish, isn’t that hysterical?! April told me to bring it in case we needed to use it ourselves to take cover from the spirits of the Wamapoke tribe.  But turns out she totally made them up to scare me – which totally worked hon!

“We hid in some leaves to try to lose Jerry while he was looking at a bird through his binoculars, but we got a little distracted when we were hiding since we were basically laying on each other and we starting doing stuff instead of looking for Jerry at first. Then he came back and found us instead – boy was he surprised! You should have seen the look on his face! It was classic! So since we got caught, April had to spill the beans of Chris’s plan.”

“She’s so smart though! She knew we’d be able to find him super easy since he’s so big and all, so we painted him in shoe polish. He tried to resist, but April insisted this was Chris’s idea and told him if he didn’t run we were going to behead him if we caught him, which made him take off so fast that he tripped and fell into a puddle, but then April started chanting ‘off with his head’ and he took off! We finally caught him, and then we tied him to a tree with this rope, which she also had me bring! I don’t know how she knew we’d need this stuff. She’s like a wilderness genius!”

Ben shifted his eyes over to April who was smirking devilishly back at him. “You never know when you’re going to have to tie someone up in the woods and make a getaway, Ben. I was just making sure we were prepared for all the unknowns of the great outdoors.”

Andy was beaming, “Isn’t she the best wife ever?”

“Yeah, she’s definitely something,” he dead-panned back shaking his head at April and heading over to where others had begun to gather around Jerry.

“OK Jerry, you are excused from the first round of activities so you can go get yourself showered and cleaned up.” Chris was telling him as Ben got closer. “You be careful of those silly kids and their pranks, they sure got you good!”

Ben was a bit more concerned about Jerry than Chris seemed to be, but Jerry was starting to appear to be in much better sprits than he had seen him a few minutes earlier, so he figured he would be fine once he was able to shower and change.

Ben noticed Donna and Tom had set up their folding chairs again and were sitting back, taking the whole situation in and laughing at Jerry now with April and Andy. Ben turned back to see Jerry ascending the cabin stairs and had to finally admit it was pretty funny and ridiculous that Jerry fell for April’s plan.

He turned his attention next to Ron, who had an impressive line of fish he was busy skinning and gutting. No one objected when he announced he would not be participating in any of the foolishness they were currently wasting their time on and that he was much more useful to them all as a team by making sure their stomachs were full of freshly caught grilled fish.

Once the commotion finally died down, Chris clasped his hands and addressed the remaining team members.

“Our first team building exercise of the day is called ‘The Human Knot’. Everyone stand in a circle and hold hands with two different people across from you. The object here is to not let go of either hand and to untangle yourselves into one big circle. If anyone lets go, you have to start back at the beginning again. The goal here is to work together as a team and to listen to each other’s ideas as to how to untie yourselves. ”

Ben, April, Andy, Tom, Donna, Ann and Leslie all made a circle on the sand. Leslie was directly in front of Ben and immediately reached her hand out toward him, smiling. He grasped her hand in his and had a hard time lifting his eyes from their point of connection. Her soft skin looked so delicate against his large hand. She reached her other hand over to April who was next to Ben and at the same time absentmindedly brushed her thumb over his skin a few strokes until she caught herself and froze. She didn’t look back up at him, but he knew she realized what she’d done. She shook her head as if to reset herself as Ben looked away. Andy grabbed Ben’s other hand and Chris started the timer for them to begin unraveling themselves.

At first, everyone started to move and talk at once and they were all pulled toward one another. Leslie instantly took charge and started to instruct the others to move one at a time. Ben noticed April, of course, was not following any of Leslie’s instructions and was making everything worse. Tom was being twisted into a pretzel and was stuck under Ann’s leg; Donna had not moved an inch and was waiting for everyone to unknot around her.  Andy was laughing too hard at April while she twisted everyone up to follow his instructions either.

“Ben!” he heard Leslie’s voice call him and returned his attention to the task at hand. “Twist underneath Donna’s arm and then go under my legs.” Ben did as she said but wasn’t prepared for April’s sudden move and found himself on his knees, pressed up tight against Leslie’s lower body. His breath stilled as he looked up from his position into Leslie’s wide eyes. He remembered the last time he had knelt in front of her like this. There were a lot less clothes, her right leg had been slung over his shoulder and his view of her had been very different. He saw her cheeks redden and he maneuvered himself away from her as quickly as possible.

Leslie was rendered speechless long enough for Donna to recognize the need for someone else to step up and take the lead. “Leslie, step over Tom’s arm and then go under Ann.” Leslie did as instructed and stood up facing the opposite direction. “OK, now back up and Andy, you twist around in front of her and then let April walk under your other arm.”

Ben was still recovering from the images haunting his brain from his previous position and didn’t hear Donna’s next set of instructions to him. As a result, and due to what he was starting to suspect as deliberate sabotage on April’s part, he found himself face to face with Leslie, his arms tightly twisted behind her back. His heart raced and his vision narrowed. He was so close he could feel her breath on his face. He caught a whiff of her coconut scented shampoo that he used to wake up with his nose buried in. All he had to do was just lean in a few inches and he could kiss her sweet, supple lips so easily. It wasn’t until he looked into her eyes and caught the slightest bit of panic forming, that he was knocked back into reality and instinctively dropped her hand and backed away.

“Come one Ben!” Tom suddenly shouted, “You can’t let go of the other person’s hand! Now we have to start all over!” Everyone moaned and Chris instructed them to regroup and try again.

Ben and Leslie automatically grabbed two other people’s hands in silent agreement and broke eye contact for the rest of the exercise.

********************************************

It only took them about 10 minutes to untie the second time once April backed down under Ben’s angry warning stare when she tried to move Ben and Leslie back into one another again. Ben focused so much attention on countering April’s moves and shooting her icy stares that she lost interest in her own game and finally gave in and worked with the others to conquer theirs. Everyone took turns giving suggestions and each one was tried out. If it wasn’t the correct solution, they undid the move and tried again until they were all finally in a big circle, hands still clasped.

Chris was of course ecstatic that they all teamed up so well and were able to complete his first task. “I knew if you all just worked together and listened to one another that this would go smoothly! Remember this lesson the next time you all work on a big project together. Everyone’s opinion counts and should be given consideration as part of completing the big picture.”

Ben snuck a glance at Leslie and she lifted her eyes from the ground at the same moment. He offered her a quick smile which she generously returned. He had to reach out the olive branch to her. He needed her to bring back the excited, spirited Leslie she had been during the hike to keep Chris’s attention away from them. Even though his heart was still beating rapidly and he could still picture her lips so close to his, his pain had to be kept inside. He couldn’t show her just how much being that close to her had really affected him. She couldn’t know just how close he’d come to kissing her in front of all of their friends and their boss. He was shaken by the fact that he had been so closed off from everything happening around them that he had truthfully been only seconds away from leaning in and claiming her lips with his own.

He ran his hand down his face as he turned from her and tried to get a grip on himself. He had hoped it would get easier as the day went on. That having taken care of himself that morning would have helped. He started to feel a panic rise from within that he was so far gone for her that he was going to ruin everything for her. That he truly may not be able to handle this situation.

Chris announced they would break for 20 minutes and then return to the lakeshore for the next activity. Donna stepped up next to him and startled him, grabbed him by the arm and started leading him up toward the cabin. He tried to resist, but when she sternly said they needed to talk, he fell silent and followed her lead.

She led him around the cabin to the front porch facing the cars. No one had followed them, and once she peaked around the corner and reassured herself, she turned to Ben.

“You need to rein in those puppy dog eyes and get your stuff together Wyatt!” Ben hung his head in defeat. Donna knew.

“I don’t know… how did you…”

“Save your breath Batman. It didn’t take more than a few minutes of actually paying attention to you two lovesick nerds with your heartbroken stares to figure out what is going on. She’s the one you were so upset about when Tom and I kidnapped you wasn’t she?”

There was no use fighting it. Donna was an intuitive woman when she took interest in something. He nodded his head without lifting it to match her gaze, sitting on a patio chair in defeat. Donna took the chair next to him and sat close so she could keep her voice low.

“I figured it out last night, but it wasn’t my business so I kept quiet. But since you are failing so miserably at not wearing your heart on your sleeve and are way too close to outing the both of you, I’m making it my business now. Tell me if I’m off base here at any point. You two fell for each other once you stopped yelling at each other long enough to realize you were made for one another. I don’t need to know the how’s and where’s or any other details about how long you two hooked up, but I do know that the both of you weren’t chasing each other down hallways like idiots anymore and all those weird hand-shaky moves stopped right around the time she announced she was running for office. So, I’m guessing this breakup wasn’t that either of you lost interest in the other, it’s about the fact that you’d only been in her life for a short time and since this has been Leslie’s dream since she was basically conceived that she dumped you to follow that dream since she couldn’t have you both.”

Ben corrected her, “That’s all true, except for the part where I broke up with her. Because she was running away from me every time she knew she had to do it herself. I saved her the trouble of having to be the one to choose.”

Donna patted his arm, “You know you did the right thing don’t you?”

He nodded and felt his eyes start to sting, “Of course I do. But it doesn’t make it hurt any less.”

Donna fell silent for a minute and then offered the only solution she could think of, “I’m not here to offer you advice. You’re a grown man and she’s a grown woman and the rest of that is all your business with each other. But I am gonna protect my girl with everything I’ve got and I’m not going to let you ruin her career goals and ambitions because you can’t stop being a lovesick mess around her. She means way too much to me for me to stand by and have you take this from her because you’re too in love with her to make smart choices. Don’t get me wrong, she’s not innocent here either, but you are way more transparent right now. And she has Ann to help her through this.”

“You and I haven’t been close really, but I like you Wyatt. You’re a good guy and your heart is in the right place. I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one that knows, but since the others appear to be Ann, Ron and April, I’m not guessing you’re getting much support on your end which is why you are failing so miserably at keeping your shit together. So, know that if you need a pep talk I’m here. If I see you breaking I will distract Chris or do whatever I have to do to get you out of the situation. But you need to pick it up on your end and do something other than wallow in your own sorrow. ”

Ben looked up at Donna and for the first time, he felt like he wasn’t alone. Who would have thought, Donna of all people would reach out to him? He felt the last pieces of the leaky damn within breaking as he breathed a sigh of relief and genuinely thanked her.

She took one look at him and stated one last caveat. “I will take it all back if you ever shed those Batman tears in my presence again though. You are still a man Ben, and no matter how much you are hurting, you save that for the privacy of your own room.” She patted his hand and walked away.

Ben smiled when he thought about how much all these people loved Leslie and what they would do for her to help her achieve her dreams. They were an amazing group of friends and he was really going to miss them when he left.

********************************************

Ben kept to himself for a few more minutes to gather up his resolve to return to the lake. He stayed close to Donna and Tom, stealing only a glance at Leslie upon his return. She was smiling and focused on Chris’s next set of instructions.

“Our next amazing game is called Minefield. I will pair you off and one of you will be blindfolded. The object is to verbally guide your partner to the other side of the course without them running into anything.”

Ben looked around at all the objects Chris had scattered throughout the property. Chairs, piles of sticks and rocks, bags, anything he could find to increase the difficulty of the game. He listened as Chris started to assign pairs.

“April, you and Ann pair up. Andy, you’re with Tom, Donna, you get  Jerry.” Ben didn’t notice Jerry had returned until Chris said his name, but he appeared to be fairly well cleaned up except for the darker hue that seemed to have temporarily stained his face.

“Ben, you and Leslie team up and I will join you all in this one and be Ron’s partner.” Ron didn’t look at all pleased to be participating, but he had joined them and not put up a fight for this one. Ben stole a glance at Donna, who gave him a head nod telling him he could do this, and then turned to face Leslie. She made her way over to him silently and stood a comfortable distance away. Chris handed a blindfold to one member of each team and told them to put it on their partner.

He watched as Ron put one on Chris, Ann was complaining at how tight April had made hers, Andy put his on Tom, and Donna was tying one on Jerry. Ben turned to Leslie and she turned her back to him so he could put it around her head. His hand stilled as he reached to place it around her eyes.

Leslie tried to hurry him along, eager to get started. “Come on Ben, just put it on! This will be fun!”

_“Leslie, I like to see you when you’re on top of me, why do you want to blindfold me?”_

_“I thought maybe you could use your hands to see me instead…”_

_She had been right, of course. It was amazing to explore her that way. He had used his hands to map every inch of her body as she rode on top of him._

_She started slowly at first, circling her hips seductively while he began his sightless journey by cupping her face in his hands, reveling in the softness of her skin while he traced her nose and lips with his thumbs. She had taken his thumb in her mouth and swirled her tongue around it before sucking on it as he pulled it out. He had groaned and moved to prop a few pillows up behind him so he could sit more upright and let his lips shadow where his hands traveled. He kissed her long and deep, letting his actions reveal what his voice was afraid to admit. He ghosted his hands down her neck as she arched her head back to give him full access. He ran his tongue slowly down the length of it while she sighed and moaned his name. He continued slowly running his hands and mouth down the curve of her breasts, pausing while her hard nipples scraped against his palms and then his face as she began to ride him faster._

_It had been overwhelming for him to experience her that way and he began to thrust up into her as she bounced down hard on him. He remembered grabbing her ass and holding the perfect bubble still in his hands as he pounded up into her from below. He recalled her screams and warnings that she was almost there, and how he had moved one hand around to where they were joined and took a nipple back into his mouth. He stimulated her body in every way possible until she exploded screaming his name among the many curses that defined the intensity of her orgasm, bringing him over the edge, wave after wave of strong release, along with her._

“Ben, come on, tie the blindfold on me!” Leslie’s voice shook him out of his memory and he worked his fingers quickly to tie the knot and step back from her. He swallowed hard and turned away, begging the sounds and feel of her from that night to go away.

Following Chris’s instructions, Ben grabbed Leslie’s shoulders and moved her to stand in front of him. Their goal was to lead their partner, using only spoken instructions, safely through the course.

“First team to the other side without hitting anything will be the winners! If you bump into anything you have to return your partner to the start and try again. On the count of three we can all start. 1,2,3, go!”

“Come on Ben, we can beat them! Lead the way!” Ben prompted Leslie to start off straight and using left and right directions from behind her he was able to slowly lead her through the maze of objects.

He was momentarily distracted by a high pitched squeal and turned to see Tom stumble over a chair. “My shin!  Ouchie! Am I bleeding?” He whipped the blindfold off and started rubbing his leg. “This game sucks! I don’t even work with you guys anymore. I’m out.”  He handed Andy the blindfold and went back to his chair to pout and rub his sore leg.

While his attention was diverted, Leslie stubbed her toe on a rock and yelled at him for not paying attention. “I’m so sorry! When Tom yelled it sounded like a bird or something and it startled me. I swear I won’t look away this time.” She pulled up her blindfold and went back the start.

As he followed her, he glanced around at the others. He saw Andy put the blindfold on himself and start navigating the course alone, which of course meant he just fell over everything constantly. He watched as April led Ann into every obstacle on purpose or pushed them into her way as she walked, which Ann was loudly yelling at her for. He saw Jerry walking with such small baby steps that he and Donna had only made it around one obstacle so far. But what Leslie noticed was how far Ron and Chris had already gotten, Ron calling out directions in military form. “To steps right. Stop. Three steps forward. Stop. Take one large step up and over the next obstacle then stop.”

“Ben, we only have to beat Chris and Ron, the others are useless. How can we beat them?”

“I’m going to stand in front of you and all you have to do is follow close behind and listen to my voice while I talk to you. Don’t reach for me or we will have to start over. Walk at a normal pace and I can lead us through this easily. Take a mental picture of the objects before you pull down the blindfold again.”

Leslie’s face lit up and she held her fist out to him. He bumped it and she scanned the terrain before quickly sliding her blindfold back down over her eyes. Ben started talking, describing every step he was taking and she followed. They navigated through the course without incident and made it to the end a few steps ahead of Ron and Chris.

“We did it!” she whipped off the blindfold and engulfed him in a hug. Ben froze in place and she immediately dropped her arms from his neck and staggered back. For that split second her body had been pressed up against his, Ben had literally stopped breathing. It felt amazingly good to be held up against her, even just briefly, but he remembered what Donna had said, and he fought for control of his emotions. He forced a sly smile back at her. “We kicked their ass.”

They watched as Ron and Chris finished moments later, Andy had given up getting through it on his own and gone over to April’s side to help her with Ann, oblivious to the purposeful torture she had been inflicting, and Donna and Jerry were still only halfway through the course when Donna announced Leslie and Ben won and they could stop.

“The Dream Team strikes again!” Chris elated, “you two are positively amazing together!”

Ben noticed Leslie turn her head and study his profile out of his periphery, but he kept him head straight ahead and smiled sadly. He had no idea how true that really was.

“Next is a fun game of volleyball!” Chris was leading them all over to the court. “Leslie, you and Ben can be captains since you won the last round. Go ahead and pick your teams.”

Leslie went first at Ben’s insistence and chose Chris, who was almost weepy at the thought that Leslie deemed him the best choice to start with. Ben chose April because he was terrified of not having her play on his side after watching her during the other activities. Leslie then ended up with Ann, Tom and Jerry while Ben commandeered Ron, Andy and Donna.

“First team to twenty-one wins!” Chris shouted and the game was on.

The game started out without a lot of enthusiasm, but competitive edges began to surface and the two teams started to play a lot more seriously as the game progressed. Leslie was of course, out to obliterate Ben’s team, but he rallied his group to the point where even April was taking the game seriously. They were tied 18 to 18 when Ben lined up to serve. He cracked the ball hard, straight at Jerry who didn’t respond quickly enough and the ball hit him in the shoulder and flew out of bounds.

“What the hell Ben?” Leslie shouted storming the net with her hands on her hips.  “How about playing fair?”

“How is serving the ball right at one of your teammates not fair?” Ben smirked back at her as he mirrored her approach to the middle of the court.

He saw her nostrils flair, “It’s not fair when that teammate is Jerry and you know it!” she scolded back at him. Jerry raised a hand to interject but Leslie shot him down, “Not now Jerry, this doesn’t concern you!”

“Leslie, you picked your group fair and square. This is a teambuilding exercise and everyone should be treated as equally important on each team.” Chris stepped in to try to calm Leslie down.

Leslie glared at him and he backed off, and she turned back to Ben with fire in her eyes. “Do it again and I will make you pay. You better hope you don’t lose your serve.”

She stormed back to her spot. Ben chuckled at her ridiculous need to win at everything, and stepped back to serve again. He hit it right back in Jerry’s direction again, this time not as forceful and watched as Leslie’s blood boiled while she dove to keep the ball in play once Jerry managed to at least hit it in bounds this time. They volleyed back and forth for a minute until April stepped up and spiked the ball straight at Tom who jumped out of the way.

Ben high-fived April while locking eyes with Leslie and she tightened her lips and shoved Jerry out of his position and told him to stand in the front instead. She taunted Ben with her icy stare for his next serve and he played into it, serving the ball in her direction. She got under it flawlessly, Chris set her up and her spunky little form jumped in the air and positively crushed the ball straight at Donna. Donna narrowed her eyes at Leslie when the ball skirted past her, just missing her head.

“Try that again skinny girl and you best not fall asleep tonight.”

Leslie muttered to Donna as she backed away, “Sorry, I just get a little competitive sometimes.”

It was Leslie’s turn to serve and Chris recanted the score for them “Ben’s team 20, Leslie’s 19.”

Leslie twirled the ball in her hands as she prepared to serve, her eyes focused solely on Ben. He put his hands on his knees in the ready position and mouthed “bring it”. She threw the ball in the air and hit it straight in Ben’s direction. He popped it up easily and Andy set up the shot for Ron who hit it hard to the other side. Chris managed to get under it and keep the ball in play while Jerry bumped it up and Ann hit it back over. Donna kept it in play, winking at Ben while April set him up and Ben hit the perfect shot across the net between Leslie and Tom. Leslie dove for it, but just missed it, punching the ground where she lay sprawled out on her stomach. Ben’s team jumped up and down and cheered, slapping hands with each other while Leslie stood back up and brushed off her clothes, seething.

Ben walked to the net and held out his hand to shake on the game, and Leslie grumbled up to face him and grabbed it stiffly, “I’d make sure you aren’t against me in the next challenge if you want to leave here alive with all of your limbs and organs still intact!”

“Good lord, Leslie, it’s just a game!” he replied awestruck at her overt viciousness. “No one is dying this weekend because your team lost at volleyball!”

She remained firm on her threat and stared him down, “Think what you will, Benjamin” she gritted through her teeth as Ann approached her and gently grabbed her arm to lead her away, “but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”


	5. Chapter 5

It was lunchtime by the time the volleyball game ended and Chris announced they should all take a break and have a couple of hours to eat and relax. They would meet back up at 3:00 for the next round of activities.

Ben watched as Ann led Leslie into the cabin, she was rubbing her back and whispering into her ear and he could see the stiffness in her shoulders begin to subside as she listened to her best friend. Ben followed Chris and Ron into the kitchen to help prepare lunch. He needed to keep busy and away from Leslie for a bit. He knew she was competitive, but her actions on the court were a bit extreme, even for her. He wished they could talk about whatever was bothering her like they used to. They’d had hours upon hours of intimate conversations in their short time as a couple, but they were no longer each other’s confidants. It was easier, given their current situation, to just keep their conversations light and superficial. But it didn’t stop him from wanting to step back into the role in her life where he was the one walking with her, rubbing her back, or holding her and encouraging her to tell him everything on her mind.

So instead, he helped Chris and Ron. Ron finished grilling the fish and chicken. Chris made a salad while Ben cut up fruit and they made easy, light conversation while they worked. Ann eventually wandered in alone and started taking out paper plates and condiments and made containers of iced tea and lemonade. Ben felt relaxed. He didn’t ask where Leslie was and Ann didn’t offer. One by one, the rest of the group began to filter into the kitchen, hungry and eager to eat.

As they filled their plates and wandered off to different areas of the cabin to eat, Ben finally began to wonder where Leslie was. She hadn’t joined the rest of the group yet to have lunch. He tried to appear nonchalant about it as he looked around for her.

Ann slid up next to him with her plate while he was filling up his own. “She’s working on some campaign emails in our room. She’s fine, she just needed to calm down and immerse herself in something productive during the break.”

Ben nodded silently and took his plate over to a chair by the fireplace to eat. He longed to know what she was working on in her room, or any details of her campaign for that matter. But he never asked, and she never offered. He wondered what it would have been like to work side by side with her during her campaign. What if he’d just been some ordinary guy she happened to be dating when she was approached to run for office?

At one point, he had contemplated quitting his job in order to be able to be with her and help her run. He wasn’t naïve enough to believe that no one would put two and two together and find out that they had dated unethically. Even if there was no proof, even just the speculation of impropriety in any media outlet would have been disastrous for her. There just hadn’t been any way for them to stay together. No grand gesture on his part would have allowed them to begin to date publically without scandal.

So he never told her it even crossed his mind. What would it matter really? It wouldn’t have made anything easier for them in the long run and they had been dating for such a short time; no declarations of love on either of their parts had been said, and he still believed that even though Ann had thrown him a bone and said Leslie missed him too, that his feelings for her were far stronger than hers were for him.

The sudden sound of her laughter in the other room lightened his spirits a bit. He was glad she was back to socializing with the group and not alone or upset. He finished his lunch and decided to head up the stairs to go check out what Tom was doing. He was sure his room was ridiculously pimped out and he was curious to see what he’d brought. Despite the fact that Tom constantly tried to appear better than his nerdy self, they actually had a lot of interests in common and he genuinely enjoyed hanging out with him.

********************************************

He managed to hide out and watch TV, play video games and just hang with Tom for the rest of the break until Chris started shouting through the house that they all needed to meet by the lake in 15 minutes. He and Tom took their time making their way back to the lake and were the last two to arrive. His gaze drifted over to Leslie, who was cackling at something Andy was saying as they approached. She seemed to be back to her old self; competitive Leslie at bay for the time being.

“Tom and Ben are here, let’s get this next phase started! Since there are two canoes at our disposal this weekend, I thought it might be fun to pair up and have some races! I will stay on the sidelines with Donna, who has informed me she is nursing a sprained ankle, so she and I will cheer you on from here! Let’s mix up the teams a bit to start off! Ann and Andy, Leslie and Ron, Ben and April and Tom and Jerry. Sorry guys, there just wasn’t enough ladies to go around.”

“A-cakes!” Andy yelled as he turned to Ann and high-fived her. April rolled her eyes, “Ann is weak and annoying and probably doesn’t even know what a canoe is.”

Andy turned to April and gave her a big bear hug, “April, are you afraid you’re going to lose to us? That’s so cute!“

April scowled at Ann when Andy put her down before she turned and made her way over to where Ben was.

“Ok guys, how ‘bout we just get started? Ben, you and April will race first against Tom and Jerry. See that large tree branch sticking out over the lake? When you get to that, turn around and head back. The team to reach the shore first wins!”

As they walked over to their canoes, Ben noticed Leslie had taken her phone out and was biting her lip and texting. Her brow was furrowed and he was momentarily distracted as he wondered what was wrong.

April seethed at him under her breath as they stepped into their canoe, “Ben, if we lose to Jerry and Tom because you can’t stop looking at Leslie and focus on this race I swear I will let Orin into your bedroom at night and have him perform satanic rituals on you while you sleep until your dreams are plagued with so much blood and gore that you wake up in a cold sweat every morning.”

Ben’s head whipped toward April in terror, Leslie’s texting forgotten for the time being. He was pretty sure she was kidding, but he wouldn’t put anything past her. She wasn’t even looking at him anymore as she stepped in the canoe and sat on the front seat.

“My parents used to take us to a cabin in the summer when we were little so I know what I am doing. I’m figuring you’re not a complete failure of a human being and you have at least been in a canoe before since you grew up in a state with like a million lakes in it. If I’m wrong I don’t want to know, but you’d better figure it out quick.”

Ben smiled and shook his head at her. “Yes, April, I know how to row a canoe. When we were kids…”

She cut him off, “I don’t really care. Just don’t screw this up.”

Chris and Ron stood behind the two canoes and got ready to push them off. Ben noticed Tom wasn’t even holding the oar correctly and Jerry was already sweating just from getting in the boat. Neither looked at all comfortable and he smirked to himself. They were going to crush them.

After some struggle on Chris’s part, even with Andy stepping in to help push Tom and Jerry’s boat off the sand and into the water, the race was on. Within minutes, April and Ben managed to find a rhythm and were back on shore before Tom and Jerry even got to the turn-around point. She hopped out of the boat and he saw a slight grin as she turned to him.

“Wow, we finally found something you don’t totally suck at,” was probably the nicest thing April had ever said to him so he nodded his head at her and started to tell her she did a great job too.

“Yuck! No. Stop talking to me.” She said through an almost smile as she turned her back to him and walked over to Andy.

He stole a quick glance at Leslie hoping to see her congratulate him on his win, but she had retreated a bit further off from the group and was still engrossed in her phone. She was a million miles away. He felt a pang of dread and hoped her distraction wasn’t campaign related, although he couldn’t imagine what else could manage to put such a worried frown on her face.

He turned from her as he heard everyone start yelling directions out to Jerry and Tom who were now rowing in circles, he cringed a few times as they almost tipped the canoe half a dozen times but after much yelling and complaining by Tom, the two finally managed to beach the canoe about 50 yards down the beach from where they had started.

“God Jerry! You are terrible! I officially quit this department – again! I’m sweating! Gross! Count me out of anything that involves me doing anything else. This vacation blows! I’m going to go soak myself in some bubbly with some bubbly. ” Tom stormed back up to the cabin still complaining even as his voice was no longer discernable.

Jerry was completely winded and was still trying to get out of the canoe and despite Ron and Chris’s assistance, managed to trip and fall in the shallow water. “Oh geez. That was my last pair of dry clothes!” Chris offered him a break to go get cleaned up for the second time that day and told him to do some laundry and just stay in the cabin until dinner.

They dragged the canoe back to the starting point and Andy and Ann stepped into one as Ron called out to Leslie.

“Whatever you are distracted by can wait for 10 minutes while we beat these two weaklings. I’m not sure this canoe is even suitable for rowing given the shoddy construction and the cheap wood that was used to make it, but I will humor this child’s craft. I refuse to lose to Andy and Amanda.”

“It’s Ann, Ron. We’ve known each other…”

“It is of no matter what your name is. All I know is you will lose.”

Leslie sighed as she finished what she was typing and placed her phone in the shoulder bag she had next to her. She walked over to Ron looking completely defeated and it tore at Ben’s heart. Ron caught her eye in a silent reprimand and Leslie’s game face reappeared as she hopped into the canoe.

Leslie finally looked back and caught Ben’s concerned stare as she picked up her oar.The wistful look on her face as she held eye contact with him and forced a smile stirred his emotions. He was certain that he would never feel this way for another woman again. She evoked emotions within him he couldn’t even put words to. The way his body and soul ached for her made him wonder if he’d been better off never having experienced this depth of emotions for someone in his life that he couldn’t end up with. Was it better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all? He wasn’t so sure he believed that old saying anymore. Sure he’d dated other women who he’d thought he loved, who he’d missed whenever things inevitably ended. But he’d always managed focus on the life he had still to live and not the one he left behind and within no time they were a distant thought, just like every town he’d ever hacked the budget in. A blur of faces and places he never thought about again.

But this time was different. She was different. This town was different. She had stormed into his life like a living breathing hurricane and tore his smug, conceited world as he knew it into shreds. Loving someone and actually being in love with someone he now understood to be two completely separate things. He’d dated her the least time of anyone in his recent past, but she had changed his outlook on his life and love forever.

He realized they were still staring at each other and he quickly looked away. He thought he may have seen a hint of remorse in her eyes as they had momentarily connected. But as quickly as the moment came, it was gone as the canoes were launched and the second leg of the race began.

Andy and Ann took the lead as Leslie struggled to compose herself and get her timing together with Ron’s. Ben could hear Ron sternly pushing Leslie and once she found her footing, Andy and Ann didn’t stand a chance. Andy got winded quickly and as both teams made the turn to come back, Andy started moaning and complaining and stripped down to his t-shirt as Ann batted him with her oar to keep going. Ron and Leslie quickly pulled ahead and won easily.

Leslie hopped out of the canoe and hugged a very stiff and stoic Ron.“There is no need to get all touchy feely at accomplishing something that was a sure thing. Pull yourself together woman!” She smiled large and whole heartedly as she threw in one extra squeeze as Ron struggled to remove himself from her clutches.

She jumped up and down and turned to Ben who was more than happy to congratulate her. Her face lit up and it was glorious to see her radiate such pure joy again. She walked up to him about to say something but never got the chance as Chris announced the next round of partners.

“Leslie and Ron will team up against Ben and April for the championship race! I’ll give you a few minutes to rest and stretch so you are on even footing. I have goose bumps this is just so exciting! 15 minutes to the race people!”

“Ready for a rematch Wyatt?” she teased, “Don’t think I’ve forgotten your cheating ways during the volleyball game. There’s no Jerry to pick on this time.”

Ben smiled when he realized her chastisement was playful rather than scary this time, and returned her jab, “There is no way you will beat me out on that lake, Leslie. Defeating Ann and Andy was childsplay. There isn’t a competitive bone in either of their bodies. April and I are going to wipe the floor with you two.”

“Don’t be so smug Ben,“ she said as she turned to walk back to Ron, “you of all people know I will stop at nothing to get my way…”

He was sure she was referring to the days when he first arrived in Pawnee, but his mind couldn’t help but wander into a much dirtier scenario.

 

_“Leslie, we are absolutely not going to have sex in City Hall! It’s one thing to sneak make out sessions in Ann’s office or that back stairwell no one uses, but having sex in my office in the middle of the day is just too risky!”_

_“Come on Ben, where’s your sense of adventure? You know as well as I do that Chris has his meditation session this afternoon, and no one else ever comes looking for you in here.”_

_“That’s really not true. Just the other day, Councilman Hows…”_

_She silenced him with a sultry kiss, nipping at his bottom lip as she made sure the v of her blouse was purposefully hanging low enough away from her body to give him a good look at what she was offering him. She made sure to accentuate her cleavage as she looked into his eyes and teased him._

_“I know for a fact that since it is Friday, the Councilmen have all left for the day, like they do every Friday by 1 o’clock. I’ve done my homework Ben. I have been fantasizing about this for longer than you know. I will bet you all the whipped cream in my refrigerator that no one is going to try to come in here.”_

_She walked slowly over to the door as she spoke, locking it and lowering the blind. She turned back toward him but didn’t move. Instead, she slowly started unbuttoning her blouse, never breaking eye contact._

_He started to feel the sweat form on his brow. “Leslie, as much as I would love to do this right now, and believe me, you have no idea how much I want to, we just can’t risk getting caught. All we have to do is wait a few more hours and then we can go back to your house where we can be guaranteed all the privacy we want.”_

_“Ben, haven’t you ever thought about bending me over your desk and lifting up my skirt and just fucking me in your office? Don’t tell me that all those months you wanted me that particular fantasy never crossed your mind. Think back to the days before we were together. Would you’re then-self have denied this opportunity to you now?”_

_He felt the blood surge into his cock and he groaned. She had no idea how many times he’d jerked off in this same chair to that exact image._

_”Good lord Leslie, of course I thought about it! But fantasizing about it and actually doing it are very different!”_

_Apparently she didn’t agree because she had finished unbuttoning her blouse, unhooked the front clasp of her bra and was now walking over to where he sat still trying to talk her out of this. Although, now he was also trying to talk himself out of it at the same time. He recognized a losing battle when he saw one. Damn his insatiable desire for this unbelievable woman._

_He turned in his chair to face her as she sat on the corner of his desk and ran her foot over the obvious bulge in his pants._

_“Looks like he doesn’t agree with your argument”  
“Leslie…” one last futile and no longer convincing try was stifled by her finger against his lips silencing him. She bent down and whispered in his ear._

_“I’m not wearing any underwear, Ben…”_

_That broke him. He groaned, pulled her in a straddle over his lap, and kissed her with such passion he felt her tremble under his touch. He ran his hands down her neck, over her breasts and under her skirt as he called her bluff. But his hand was not stifled by fabric. Instead, his fingers trailed through her curls and skimmed her slick center._

_“Oh God Leslie,” he moaned as his hips lifted to pressed his cock up against her. Now that he’d given in to the thought of this actually happening, he needed to be inside her immediately._

_“I thought you’d see things my way.“_

_She smirked as she lifted herself up off his lap and ran her hands down his torso to his belt buckle as he stood in front of her. She loosened the clasp and he bent down to kiss her again, one hand in her hair and the other lost in her folds._

_Her breath hitched as he slowly played with her while she unzipped his pants and slid them and his boxers off in one push. She took him in her hand and ran her palm over the tip and down his shaft. Her touch was electrifying and his cock bounced in appreciation. She broke the kiss and bent over to take him in her mouth.  
“As much as I would love you to do that right now, I think that maybe we should leave that for later when we have more time…”_

_“Oh, I wasn’t going to stay down there Ben, I was just getting him ready.”_

_He watched as she took him in her mouth and left a thick trail of saliva down his cock. “Fuuuuck Leslie” was all he could manage before turning her abruptly around and bending her over his desk. She smiled at how undone she had already made him as he bent down to quickly return the favor._

_“Oh my God Ben,” she moaned as he flattened his tongue against her and very wetly licked from her clit down past her opening. He knew she didn’t need his assistance in preparing for him, his initial exploration of her had told him she was already slick and more than ready, he just wanted her taste in his mouth while he fucked her._

_He leaned over her back and dragged his cock slowly over her clit and down to her opening, placing it against her entrance but not entering her. She pushed back against him to try to take him in but he resisted and repeated the motion as she whimpered and pleaded with him. He reached for her face and turned her head so he could kiss her, sloppy and wet, mirroring the movement of his cock on her other lips with his tongue on those._

_As she swore and dropped her head to his desk, arching her back and lifting her ass in the process, he couldn’t take the teasing anymore and entered her fully and forcefully. She moaned loudly and he reached to cover her mouth with his hand as he stilled inside of her._

_“Leslie, if we are going to do this you have to be quieter”  
“But you feel so fucking amazing Ben, I don’t know if I can” she groaned in reply._

_He pulled out of her and she looked back at him, begging him to continue, “okay, okay, I’ll be quiet, just put it back in… please…”_

_He grabbed her hips and lined himself back up with her and slowly pushed his length all the way in. They both moaned softly, trying more carefully to be quiet. Once he was back inside of her, he dropped a quick kiss onto her shoulders while she rolled her hips. He slowly pulled almost all the way out of her again, spreading her cheeks with his hand so he could watch himself move inside her. He thrust into her in long slow strokes until she begged him for more, and once he started to push into her harder and faster, he lost himself in the feeling of her._

_She was hands down the best he’d ever had. She was tight but not shallow. And best of all, even though he was impressively endowed, she was always able to take him all the way in, from any position, and then beg for it harder or faster. It was like she was made to have him inside her. The way his body and soul felt when he was with her made him finally understand what it meant to find someone who ‘completed you’ in every way._

_He pressed down on her back with one hand as he continued to thrust into her. He knew they should be quick with this, so as he felt the tightening begin in his balls and the euphoria of the build-up raging through his veins, he reached around to help Leslie along, who, judging by the string of curses and the number of times she’d worshipped his name in the last few minutes, was already well on her way._

_“Leslie, I’m so close…” he managed to gasp between harried breaths._

_“I’m almost there… holy fuck Ben you are amazing…”  
He felt her walls start to pulse around him as he circled her clit and fucked her as hard as he could._

_“Fuck Leslie, I can’t hold it anymore…”_

_“Oh God, here it is…”_

_He felt her close around him tightly once as she started to cum and he let go, emptying himself deep inside her as she pulsed fiercely around him. They both moaned at the release, probably much too loudly given their location, and Ben fell over top of her on the desk, kissing her shoulders and the back of her neck as he felt the both of them alternate small ‘after’ contractions against each other inside her._

_As he started to soften, he slowly pulled out and grabbed a few tissues from on his desk to clean himself and Leslie up with._

_“I still don’t know how smart that was, but holy shit was that worth doing at least once,” he smiled as he kissed her flushed lips._

_“I knew it would be…” she said as she grinned and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him back._

 

Ben sadly turned away from her and walked over to his canoe where April was standing with her hands on her hips, scowling at him.

“You’d better forget everything she just said to you and wipe that dopey look off your face. It’s not often that I get the chance to beat Leslie or Ron at anything, much less at the same time.” April was eyeing him skeptically. “I refuse to lose this Ben. Should we try to tip their boat?”

Ben scoffed at April, “We are not going to cheat April! We can win this fair and square. Ron may have size on us but given Leslie’s sugar intake and his age, we should have endurance on our side in the end.”

“You better be right. If not I will resort to extreme tactics.”

Ben silently prayed it wouldn’t come to that. They talked technique for a few minutes as Chris called everyone back to the shore to watch the final race.

“Same rules, no cheating. First team back to the shore wins! “

They positioned themselves in the canoes. Ben looked over at Leslie who was staring out over the lake, a look of fierce determination on her face.

Chris and Andy were stationed at the end of either canoe, and at his command, each pushed them out into the water and the race was on.

Leslie and Ron rowed furiously, taking a slight lead to begin. Leslie caught Ben’s eye and smugly smiled as she glided past him. April shouted at him to row faster. He moved his focus solely back on April and their boat and he and April finally found their pacing. As they rounded the turn-around point, Leslie and Ron failed to gain back the momentum they had started with and Ben and April started to take the lead. He heard Leslie yelling at Ron to row faster but it was too little too late. Muscles burning and sweat forming down his back and forehead, Ben and April touched ground seconds before Ron and Leslie did.

April stepped out of the boat gave him a silent high-five. “I’m hungry,” was all she said as she walked back toward where Andy was jumping up and down and cheering as loud as he could. As she came closer he tackled her to the ground. Her seeming annoyance with him was betrayed by the smile she couldn’t hide as he kissed her.

Ron huffed away, clearly not happy to have been taken by Ben and April. No one approached him as he mumbled something about the race not meaning anything when the vessel was so defective and then announced he would be at the grill and no one should bother him for any reason.

The rest of the crew followed his lead back toward the cabin, never bothering to glance back at Ben and Leslie who remained glued in their places. Everyone that was except Ann, who he saw hesitate and glance back at Leslie. She must have thought better of interfering after seeing her friend’s demeanor though, because she turned quickly to catch up to everyone else.

Ben cringed as he slowly turned in Leslie’s direction, unsure of what he was about to face that had practically sent Ann running the other way. Leslie looked calmer than he expected, but there was a distinct iciness to her gaze as she strode over toward him.

“The way I figure it, Ben, “she began, “you have managed to beat me both times by relying on other’s merits. I think it’s time for some good old one on one competition, wouldn’t you agree?” her eyes spit fire at him as she struggled to stay calm.

He tried to talk her down. “Leslie, really, this is just supposed to be a silly game among friends. We don’t need to turn this into anything else. How about we follow the others inside and take a break before dinner?” he patted her should and tried to turn her toward the cabin.

She brushed his hand curtly off her shoulder and stared daggers at him.

“No Ben. I don’t want to do that at all.” She looked like a woman possessed and he was admittedly a bit frightened at that point.

“In fact, you and I are going to step back over to these canoes, get in, and I will show you once and for all who the real winner is. Leslie Knope doesn’t go down without a fight.”

She grabbed his arm and dragged him toward the canoes. He had no idea what had gotten into her. She had clearly succumbed to her inner crazy and was taking him along for the ride whether he wanted to go or not.

The shrill ringing of her phone caused her to stop her quest momentarily.

“Don’t move,” she seethed as she marched over to answer it. She walked out of earshot and Ben saw her mood darken even more as she spoke with the unknown other party. She hung up, looked like she was going to throw her phone into the lake for a second, but regrouped, put it back in her bag and stormed back to where he stood.

Uh oh he gulped. She looked like she was ready to murder him. She squared off, “There is no way I am going to lose Ben. I’ve given up way too much to not fight to the end and win.”

_Given up way too much? What the hell was she talking about?_

” I am not a quitter. I will be victorious and you will see that this wasn’t all for nothing. Now get in that boat and don’t even think about throwing this race.”

He practically ran to his canoe just to get away from her. He was really worried about her at this point. There was definitely more to this confrontation than a simple race, but he didn’t think that she was in any place for him to try to get her to open up to him about whatever was bothering her at this point. She was losing it and the only thing he could do for the time being was play along until her inevitable collapse.

She stood by her canoe and clenched her jaw. “Push off, jump in and give it your all, Wyatt. Ready, set, now!”

She shoved her canoe in to the water with such force she almost didn’t make it in. She grabbed the oars, locked them in place and rowed with such vigor that Ben was afraid not to give it his all as well. She looked manic, and he was honestly struggling to keep up with her. They were neck and neck going into the turnaround, but as Ben slowed momentarily to make the turn, Leslie went at it full force, way too fast, and as Ben called out to her to slow down, she leaned a bit too far into the turn and the canoe flipped over on top of her. The last thing he saw was the oar hit her head as she went under.

Without thinking he plunged into the icy water and under her boat, blindly reaching around for her. What felt like minutes later, but was probably only a few seconds, he grabbed onto her arm and dragged her up from under the boat. Pure adrenaline coursing through his veins, he swam her over to the nearest canoe which had begun to drift towards the opposite shore and held her above water as he held onto the canoe and kicked as hard as he could to bring them to solid ground.

She was gasping and coughing as he carried her to shore. He squatted down next to her and patted her back as she bent over and struggled to catch her breath. He noticed she was rubbing the top of her head and cringing in pain. Ben immediately moved her hand and searched for any signs of blood. Luckily, there was none.

“Leslie, are you ok? Talk to me! Do I need to go get Ann?” he was frantic, but as he moved to stand up, she shook her head and grabbed his hand to stop him.

“No… I’m fine… just give me a second…”

He wavered, but eventually knelt back down by her side, continuing to rub her back as she leaned against him for support. Eventually the coughing subsided, but she didn’t immediately move from his arms.

“Leslie, “ he broke the ice quietly. She still hadn’t met his eye since they came on shore. “What is going on with you?”

She took a staggered breath, pulled back slowly from him, and as she met his concerned stare for the first time, her body began to involuntarily convulse as she finally broke down and sobbed uncontrollably in his arms.


	6. Chapter 6

Ben held Leslie as she broke down. He smoothed her cold, wet, hair as she clutched fiercely to his lake soaked shirt. He waited patiently for her cries to subside as he rocked her and wrapped his arms tightly around her frigid body. He leaned his head against the side of hers and whispered in her ear; simple, soothing, generic words of comfort since he had nothing concrete to work with yet as to why exactly she was crying.

He embraced her until her sobs began to lighten to whimpers. She still clung to him as if her life depended on it even as the convulsions in her body subsided and were replaced with tremors from being soaked through in the chill autumn night air. 

She eventually loosened her grip on his shirt, but didn’t immediately pull away from him. He continued to sit on the cold forest ground with her half in his lap, not wanting to be the first to break the only meaningful physical contact he’d had with her in months. He felt her breathe in long and deep against his chest as she struggled to calm herself down. She leaned against him for support as she began to wipe the tears from her eyes with her shaky hands.

He rubbed her arms and shoulders silently, allowing her the time she needed to pull herself together. She stilled in his embrace even after the evidence of the breakdown had subsided and all that was left were her shivers from the cold and the sound of their clothing rustling as he continued rubbing her arm and her back. He heard her inhale one last, deep breath into his chest before she finally made the first move to pull back from him a bit. 

She looked up into his eyes, her face mere inches away from his. Her wet hair was wild around her tired, drained features. Her eyes were puffy and bloodshot and her cheeks were smeared with dirt from where her hands had tried unsuccessfully to erase any evidence of the tears she had so furiously shed moments before. He searched her eyes as she locked her gaze on his. He had never seen her look so raw; so vulnerable. He couldn’t help but to be taken aback at how breathtaking she was, even in such a disheveled state.

He moved his hands to cup her face as his thumbs softly caressed her cheeks. She closed her eyes and her breath hitched upon his touch. He felt her slowly lean in toward him, placing both hands on his upper thighs. He closed his eyes and held his breath. Then, he felt her rest her forehead against his. They both stayed motionless in that position; his heart beating wildly at the intimacy displayed in such a simple action. It took every ounce of restraint left in him to not lean forward the extra few inches and press his lips to hers. Whatever she was going through, whatever she needed from him in this moment he would give, but he would not try to take anymore for himself. 

They pulled apart, hesitantly, as they began to hear voices calling their names in the distance. Ben felt a wave of remorse at the loss of contact. She stared at him intensely as he slowly dropped his hands from her face and stood up, offering her a hand to assist.

“Ben, I… “, she started, but it was too late. The voices were steadily getting closer and more frantic and Ben called out to them, never breaking eye contact, but slowly dropping her hand, the tips of their fingers the last to touch as their hands returned back to their sides. As he took a step back from her, she stood still, watching his retreat, a look of sadness etched onto her features as Chris, Ann, and Ron ran into the clearing where they stood. 

“What happened?!,” Ann shouted as she ran over to Leslie and threw a blanket around her shivering friend.

“We were racing in the canoes and Leslie’s overturned,” Ben began. “She hit her head and I jumped in to help her to shore.” Ann began looking at the top of Leslie’s head to inspect the bump. Leslie assured her she was fine, just a little shaken up.

“What the hell, Ben!” Ron growled, “She could have been killed!”

Ben froze under the larger man’s anger, stuttering, “It… I mean she… we were…”

“Ron,” Leslie turned to them and shakily spoke up in Ben’s defense, “it was my idea. I was mad we lost so I challenged him to race me one on one.”

“Well he shouldn’t have accepted!” Ron stared daggers in his direction.

Leslie sighed as she looked back at Ben, “I didn’t give him much of a choice.”

Ann stepped in, “Ok, blaming Ben isn’t going to solve anything here.  Leslie, you are wet and freezing and we need to get you back to the cabin and warm you up. You too Ben, let’s go.”

Ron stormed over to where one of the canoes was beached. Chris offered to stay back and recue the drifting canoe with him while Ann took Leslie and Ben back.

Ann paused for a moment before they started so she could quickly look him over. “What about you, are you hurt?”

“I’m fine, really. I’m just cold,” he said through chattering teeth as he started to walk.

Chris called out after them, “Ben! I turned the hot tub on earlier because I was going to take a relaxing soak later this evening. It should be plenty hot by now for you and Leslie to get in and warm yourselves up. I wouldn’t want either of you to catch a cold because of this!”   
Ben was too tired and frozen to try to come up with a reason to not be put in that situation with Leslie, so he just said thanks and continued on.

Ben lingered behind Ann and Leslie a bit as they walked, wrapping his arms around himself as he struggled to keep up. He had come down from his adrenaline induced high and began to feel the effects of the races and the rescue. Every part of his body hurt and it was becoming a bit of a struggle to will one foot to continue in front of the other. Chris was right, the hot tub sounded fantastic. 

********************************************

When they walked in the door of the cabin, everyone rushed over to them eager to hear what had happened.

“Ok, everyone back off, “ Ann was using her ‘nurse voice’ as Ben so often had heard Leslie refer to it, “they’re fine, they’re just cold and a little shaken up. Give them a chance to get out of these clothes and warm up before you bombard them with questions.”

She ushered Leslie into their room as Ben went out the side door to where the hot tub was. He quickly stripped down to his boxers and climbed in. The water wasn’t too hot, but in his frozen state it felt like he was climbing into a tub of lava. It took him a few minutes to finally ease all the way in and settle onto one of the seats. Once he did, he was in heaven. The water warmed him to his core, and when he turned the jets on, they worked to soothe his aching muscles.

He was glad for the time to just sit by himself. Thankful for Ann’s control of the situation upon their return. He had to remember later to thank her for shielding him and Leslie from the barrage of questions they had walked into.  He sat motionless in the tub, alone with his thoughts for the first time. He still had no answers as to what made Leslie break down like that. He’d never seen her spiral so completely out of control and it worried him more than he wanted to admit. He hoped she was at least confiding in Ann and leaning on her best friend to get her through whatever she was going through.

He sighed as his thoughts drifted back to how amazing it felt to have her in his arms. How time had stopped when she had rested her forehead against his. Guilt gnawed at him for finding even the slightest bit of pleasure in her pain. He knew he shouldn’t be thinking that way, but regardless of the circumstances, he couldn’t deny that having been able to touch her and hold her again had been intoxicating.

He was startled out of his thoughts by the sound of a door opening. He opened his eyes to find Leslie walking out onto the deck, a thick robe wrapped around her freshly showered body. The sight was painful to behold given his current train of thought. 

“I brought you a towel,” she offered as she laid one across the top of one of the chairs in the corner of the porch.

“Thanks,” was all he could return. He closed his eyes, thinking she was going to go back inside.   
But she didn’t. 

“I also brought you an apology.”

He wearily opened his eyes again to see her perched on the edge of the hot tub, steam enveloping her body. “Really, Leslie, it’s ok. You obviously have some things you are dealing with. It’s fine. Let’s just forget the whole thing, ok?”

She looked down at the swirling water and nodded her head. He waited for her to get up so he could go back to brooding by himself, but she didn’t move. 

He could see the wheels turning in her head as she sat pondering her next move. He waited silently. If she got up and left, he would understand. Anything else she would say to him at this point would involve her opening up to him emotionally and he knew they were not at that place with each other anymore. She had been physically and emotionally drained at the lake when she leaned on him for support, but now she was back with Ann and all her friends and he knew they would all be there for her if she needed someone to talk to.

He closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the tub, giving her the chance to slip back in the house and not having to feel pressured to continue under his gaze. The noise from the jets masked any movement of her body he otherwise would have heard, so when he heard the door softly shut, he assumed that’s what she had done. He let out a shuddering breath at her departure. Well, that was that.

“My campaign is falling apart.”

His eyes shot open at the sound of her voice, shocked that she was still outside.

“I’m polling at my lowest point since we announced I was running. William, Elizabeth and I don’t agree on anything. Their approach to running a campaign is so fundamentally opposite of everything I believe in and we are constantly at odds. They won’t let my friends help with anything. They insist on using all their own resources and volunteers. This was supposed to be the best time of my life and I’m the most miserable I’ve ever been.”

Her shoulders sagged under the weight of her words. “I’m sorry I fell apart on you today like that. That last phone call was Barnes giving me an ultimatum following my latest barrage of emails during our lunch break. I have to let them run the campaign their way and stop second guessing and countering everything they suggest we do or they are going to drop me. I took my frustration out on you earlier at the lake, and I’m very sorry about that.”

Ben shook his head in disbelief, “Leslie, this is _your_ campaign. You shouldn’t have to do anything you aren’t comfortable with. They may be your advisors and have taken you under their wing, but insisting you change who you are isn’t right!”

“I know!” she threw her hands up in frustration, “That’s what I keep telling them! But they insist we have to do whatever we need to in order to win. But, I don’t want to win by compromising who I am and what I stand for!“

“I started to wonder if I was just being crazy or naïve. I thought maybe that’s what really had to be done in order for me to be elected. But it didn’t feel right, and I had to trust my instincts. You have no idea how many times I’ve had my finger on your number wanting to call you and talk to you about this. But I didn’t think that was fair. I didn’t think it was right for me to ask anything of you. So I tried to forge ahead, but I just can’t do it anymore. Everything feels wrong and no one else knows anything about running a campaign for me to talk to about this. I tried talking to Ann and she’s her usual supportive self, but she doesn’t know how to advise me in this situation.”

Leslie was tearing up again and had begun to shiver sitting on the edge of the hot tub in just a robe.

“Leslie, I will help you in any way I can. I hate to see you like this. Please, if you need my advice on anything or want to run anything by me, don’t hesitate to call. You deserve to be on City Council. This town deserves to have you stand up for it. But you should not change who you are or compromise your beliefs in order to get there.”

She smiled with a sigh of relief, “I know this is so unfair Ben, but I don’t know who else to turn to.”

He smiled back, “I’m not saying it’s going to be easy for me Leslie, but if there is anything I can offer that will help you run this campaign _your_ way, just let me know. William and Elizabeth are fools to want to try to mold you into something you aren’t, because what you are is already amazing. They should be proud that you stand up for yourself and fight for what you believe is right, because that is exactly what you will do for Pawnee when you are elected.”

She looked down at the water, smiling, and blushed at his adoration of her. But her happiness was fleeting. He watched as her face slowly dropped and reality settled back in.

“Ben, your support and encouragement means more to me than you’ll ever know, but honestly, what’s the difference? So you tell me I’m right and everything I’m feeling makes sense. It still doesn’t help me with William and Elizabeth. They will still want to run this their way. They’ll still drop me if I don’t start to cooperate. They still won’t let my friends get involved. I’m no better off than I was except now I know I am not being unreasonable. If anything, that’s almost worse!”

Ben nodded. She was right. All the advice and support he offered still wasn’t going to fix things for her. Ultimately, he also knew he was going to be worse off getting involved in her life again without being able to be with her. There was no easy answer here for either of them, no matter how noble his intentions.

“I’m sorry, Leslie. I.. I don’t know what to say. I can encourage you and support you but I can’t fix this for you.” He ran his hands down is face, exhausted and frustrated.

“It’s been a long day, maybe you should just to sleep on it and you’ll see things more clearly tomorrow. I can see you’re starting to shiver again and you’re going to make yourself sick sitting out here in the cold. Why don’t you go back inside and in the morning if you need to run any ideas by me, come find me and we can brainstorm.”

She hesitated, nodding her head, but she didn’t make a move to go back inside. Instead she caught his eyes in a blank, tired stare. “Do you mind if I just get in the hot tub instead? I’m not ready to face everyone inside yet and I’m too worked up to go to sleep.”

Ben cringed at the thought of her getting into the hot tub with him. He was having a hard enough time concentrating and not thinking about what was underneath that robe, and now she wanted take it off and get closer to him? He swallowed hard and wondered how he could get out of this situation without making her feel any worse. 

“Um… sure.”

As she reached for the robe he felt himself start to panic. He didn’t want to stare at her, but he didn’t know what else to do with his eyes. He looked up at the sky, then quickly down at the water, and finally jerked his head to the side as she lowered her robe. But, in successfully averting his eyes from her front, he caught a glimpse of her backside in the reflection in the glass doors behind her. 

She was wearing a bright blue polka dot bikini. He felt a rush of heat to his face when he realized he’d never seen her in a bathing suit before. Sure, he’d seen her in her bra and panties many times, but never in a bikini. He watched her in the glass as she stepped up and into the tub, catching a glimpse of her curves, her ass and her perfect legs in the reflection as she climbed in.

He was taken aback by the fact that he had such intense feelings for this woman and they’d never been on a vacation together. He was a wreck over a woman he’d never actually been on a real date with. Sitting in a hot tub with her while _not_ dating her was starting to not sound like such a good idea anymore. There were way too many things he was realizing he wanted to do to her in a hot tub.   
He needed to get out; make up something, anything to remove himself from this situation.

“Actually, I was just going to get out.” He stood up in the tub but froze in place as he realized she was blocking his escape route.

She paused with one foot in the water, “oh… really? But you haven’t even been in here that long.” She stepped back out of the water, standing above him on the steps like some sort of Goddess. “If you want to be alone, I can wait, it’s ok. I can come back later.”

“I don’t need to be alone, did you want to be alone? I can just get out and you can have a turn by yourself…”

“No, I don’t need to be alone. You can…” she paused mid-sentence and locked her eyes with his. Calming her voice she smiled and started over.

“Really Ben, there’s plenty of room for both of us. This doesn’t have to be weird if we don’t make it weird. That lake was freezing and we should both sit in here and warm up.” Then softly she added, “I’d really like you to stay. We don’t have to talk to each other if you don’t want. I just don’t want to be alone right now.”

He paused, still holding her gaze, and then gave in, dropping his eyes to the swirling water. “Ok. Yeah, of course.” He gave a soft, defeated, smile and sat back down. “The water really does feel amazing.”

She lowered herself in the water across from him, laid her head back against the tub and closed her eyes. He did the same. They sat in a comfortable silence, letting the jets and the heat soothe their sore, tired bodies.

Finally, Ben raised his head to check on her; to make sure she hadn’t fallen asleep or passed out. She still had her eyes closed but her hands were out to her sides slowly skimming through the water as she rested. Ben took a moment to just appreciate how magnificent she was. Not only was she gorgeous on the outside, but the fact that she refused to compromise any part of who she was or what she stood for to achieve her dreams made her even more sensational. His chest swelled with so much love and admiration for the woman sitting in front of him that he wanted to burst under the pressure of it. 

Without warning, she picked her head up and caught his eye. It was like she had felt him watching her. He was embarrassed that he had been caught so obviously staring at her, but he didn’t try to avert his eyes as she opened hers. It was as if he was mesmerized by her. He saw the look that washed over her face. He knew that look all too well. He was sure he was looking at her the same way. He quickly looked down at his hands in the water, trying to break the moment.

He felt a fight or flight response coming on. He couldn’t fight for her, he knew that. So his only option to stop what was happening right now was to flee. They had obviously overestimated their being able to sit in a hot tub half naked together.

“I think maybe I should go inside,” he stammered and started to wade through the water toward the edge.

Leslie caught his wrist before he could stand up. “Please don’t go.” She begged. She sounded so lost. He had no idea what to do.

He kept his back to her as he spoke. “Leslie, I will find a way to help you figure out your next steps for your campaign, but sitting in a hot tub barely dressed with you right now is not working for me. I’m sorry if that’s difficult to hear. It’s extremely difficult for me to admit to you, but there is only so much I can take. And this… this is just too much.”

She didn’t let go of him. He turned his head back toward her, his eyes begging her to release him. They stilled like that for a beat, eyes locked on each other, but she still didn’t let go of his arm.

“Leslie, please…” 

He felt her grip falter, but in instead of relaxing her hold on him, she closed her fingers tighter around his wrist and pulled her weightless body through the water toward him. He closed his eyes, he couldn’t move. He silently pleaded with her to stop. He felt her hands run through his hair, down the sides of his face and her thumb brushed over his lips. He choked out a breath as she softly sighed, “God, I miss you so much,” and pressed her lips against his.

He felt lightheaded. Goosebumps formed in waves over his body as her lips touched his for the first time in months. He couldn’t respond at first. The feel of her hands on his face and her mouth against his was overwhelming. He lost the ability to focus on anything else around him except for her touch. He wanted to pull back, to tell her this was a terrible idea. But instead, his willpower crumbled and he moved his hands up into her hair, and opened his mouth to hers, moaning as he gave in and kissed her back.

He felt her push him backwards through the water, their lips never losing contact, until he was settled into one of the seats again. He pulled her onto his lap as they gave in to one another. Her legs wrapped around his waist and she whimpered as he groaned when their bodies pressed up fully against one another. His hands ran through her hair, down her neck, across her breasts and around to cup her ass. She grabbed the back of the hot tub and pressed her body tightly against his as she kissed him with so much passion and intensity that he was unable to stop the surge of lust that ran straight to his cock and caused him to buck his hips hungrily against her center. She ground against him as she moaned into his mouth. Despite the two thin layers of fabric separating them, he could still feel her folds around his cock as she pressed herself against him, and he thrust against her in one long stroke. She groaned long and way too loud. He froze, she stilled and their lips parted as he shook his head.

“Leslie… “ he pulled back from her as reality intervened, “…we can’t do this…” she let go of the hot tub behind him as he gently slid her off his lap, “…you are still running for office...” her head dropped as his words cut through her, “…Chris and all our friends are just on the other side of those walls.” He put his head in his hands as she lifted herself off him.

“Ben…” she started through shaky breath,”… I need you. I miss you so much…  I think about you all the time and I can’t stop…”

He groaned and moved to quickly get out of the hot tub. He wrapped a towel quickly around his painfully obvious erection.

“Please, everything is falling apart. I just… I need you in my life…” she was crying now and he felt like the world’s biggest asshole for what he was about to do.

“Ben, stay here… let’s talk about this…” she pleaded with him as he turned to open the cabin door.

“Ben!”

He paused and turned back around to face her. “Leslie, it’s been an extremely emotional day. You aren’t thinking straight and we can’t do something in the heat of the moment that you are going to regret in the morning. I can’t just be a momentary distraction to help you forget about everything that’s going on in your life right now. It’s too risky and honestly, it’s just too painful.”

She shook her head frantically at him, “it’s not like that!” she tried to reason, desperate for him to stay.

He searched her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath before asking the one question he knew would bring this all to a grinding halt.

“Leslie, answer me truthfully. If everything was going fine with your campaign right now and none of this had happened with William and Elizabeth today, would we still be in this position?  Would you still be with me right now, ready to throw it all away by sleeping together and risking getting caught? Would you still be telling me you wanted to be with me?”

She tried to hold his gaze, but when her head fell and her hands went up to shield him from her tears, he had his answer. He grabbed his clothes and headed inside, barely making it into his room and closing the door before his own tears racked through his exhausted body and he collapsed on his bed.  Head buried in his hands, he sat on the edge and just let himself cry.


	7. Chapter 7

Ben jolted awake, disoriented in his surroundings. The events of the evening came flooding back to him and he groaned as he struggled to read the alarm clock illuminating the room a dull red from on top of the single dresser. When he was finally able to bring the numbers into focus, the clock glared 10:17 pm at him. He rubbed his eyes and remained horizontal, pulling the covers up over his head. He willed his heart to stop racing, his body to stop hurting and his mind to stop flashing back to what an incredible asshole he’d been to Leslie earlier. 

He hadn’t meant to be so harsh, to force her to look him in the eye and tell him her campaign meant more than he did to her. But he’d done it anyway, knowing full well what the result would be and how awful he would make her feel. 

She had caught him off-guard in the hot tub with that kiss. That sensational, all consuming, moment of passion. He’d wanted nothing more than to scoop her up and carry her into her room and feel her naked, writhing body underneath his again. To promise her he could make everything ok. He’d wanted it more than he’d wanted anything in his entire 36 years of being. 

But, he also wanted her to keep the job she loved and run for City Council like she deserved. She finally had the chance to go after the one thing she’d been dreaming of since she was a child. He wasn’t going to be the man who took that all away from her for one night of selfish desire. 

Yes, they were still attracted to each other. They hadn’t broken up because either of them had lost interest. And yes, he understood how after a day like she’d had inhibitions could be lowered and things could happen in the heat of the moment. But he also understood regret, and he couldn’t bear to ever be her regret.

He knew he did the right thing by stopping them from going any further, but what he didn’t particularly like was the way he’d just up and walked away from her and left her in the hot tub in tears. But he did what he had to do in the moment. His body was emotionally and physically aching for her and he didn’t trust himself to stay and be able to continue to resist her. He didn’t walk away from her to hurt her; he did it to protect her. 

He continued to rationalize his actions as he stared up at the ceiling of his room.  After a few minutes, he was distracted by how eerily silent he realized the cabin was given the time. His stomach growled and he remembered he hadn’t had anything to eat since lunch. He waited a few more minutes before he got up, listening intently for any signs of the others, but he heard nothing.  He really wasn’t in any mood to rejoin the group or run into Leslie or Ann, so he was thankful for the solitude.

He stood up and removed his boxers which had stiffened very uncomfortably once they had dried. He threw on a new pair along with a t-shirt and pajama bottoms and slowly opened his door a crack, ready to retreat at any sign of the others. All was quiet, so he made his way to the kitchen, hoping to find some leftovers in the fridge from that night’s dinner. 

He put together a quick plate and put it in the microwave to warm it up. As he was getting a glass of water from the sink, he happened to glance out the window and stopped in mid-sip.

Leslie’s car was gone. She’d left.

He braced himself on the sink and hung his head. He knew she’d left because of what had happened. How could he have been so awful to her? She’d been so upset she couldn’t even stand to stay in the same house with him another night. After the day she’d had, he didn’t blame her really. If he had his car he probably would have left too. He hoped Ann wouldn’t have let her drive home alone. He assumed Leslie would have told Ann everything that transpired between them and they would have left together.

The microwave beeped to signal his dinner was done, but he didn’t move. She was gone and he’d driven her away. He looked back outside, staring at the tracks her tires left in the gravel where her car had been parked. He ignored the series of beeps that rang every few seconds reminding him to remove his food. He just stared at the empty parking space, wondering what he could have done differently.

He heard the microwave door pop open behind him and he cringed before slowly turning to see who was there. April was standing there with her arms folded glaring at him.

“What did you do to Leslie?”

He shook his head, “Not now, April,” he sighed.

She wasn’t going to back down. “Yes now, Ben.” 

He folded his arms across his chest, leaning back against the sink. “She just had a really bad day today, and I managed to make it even worse by being a huge jerk to her. It doesn’t matter what happened. We just need to not be around each other anymore. It’s not good for either of us. I can’t be her friend… I can’t help her...”

April thought for a minute before she spoke again glancing out the window behind him. “She left with Ann a while ago.” He bit his lip and nodded. “Why don’t you come outside with us? We made a fire on the beach and we’re working on brainstorming a new project idea.”

He shook his head, definitely not in the mood for anyone or anything work related.

“No thanks. It’s been a really long day. I’m just gonna eat some dinner and go back to my room. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t tell anyone you saw me.”

She nodded her head and turned to walk back out the door. “If you change your mind and don’t want to be a huge jerk to the rest of us too, you know where we are.”

Once she was gone, Ben took his food and a drink back into his room. After he’d finished dinner, he set the plate aside and reached for his laptop and his phone. No calls or texts. Not that he was expecting any, but he had secretly hoped maybe she had left him some sort of message about leaving. He would have welcomed a nasty message at that point, anything was better than her silent retreat.

He pulled up his email. Nothing of interest in there either. He paused, contemplating his next move. He knew it was the right one, but for some reason, his fingers just sat on the keyboard and his brain refused to conjure up even the simplest of sentences to begin with.

He stood up and paced the room. Her face followed him. He could envision her anger on the beach before the race. He relived the panic he’d felt when her canoe overturned. The way his heart had raced as she’d rested her weary forehead against his on the shore. He saw the desperation in her eyes as she floated toward him in the hot tub; the way he’d stopped breathing just before she kissed him. He could still feel the heat of her body wrapped around him. Then, he saw her cover her eyes as she began to cry.

That last image was enough to send him into action. He typed furiously on the keys, but lingered over the send button when he was done.

He stood up again and paced, stopping every so often in front of the computer to stare at the screen and reread his email. All he had to do was hit the send button and this would all be over. But each time he reached for the button, something stopped him and he couldn’t go through with the finality of it.

Finally, promising himself he would send it first thing the next day, he left the email window open and closed the laptop, moving it off the bed and putting it out of reach on the dresser next to the clock. He turned on the TV and flipped through, trying to find something to distract himself with. He settled on reruns of Battlestar Galactica, but even that didn’t keep his mind from churning.

He knew what he was going to do was the right move. Even before the weekend began it had been his endgame. And now he was more sure than ever about it, but for some reason he held back. He just didn’t want to end this crappy day that way.

He heard the doors open in the cabin and mumbled voices bounced off the walls. Everyone sounded so upbeat, so happy. He wondered sadly how long it would take before he sounded that way again.

At one point there was a soft knock on his door, which he ignored. He just didn’t want to face anyone. Eventually the person went away and before long the house was silent again as everyone retired to their rooms.

He waited for a few minutes to be sure everyone was really gone, and snuck out to use the bathroom and brush his teeth. When he was done, he finished watching the rest of the episode and turned the TV off. The clock changed over to midnight, teasing him that it was now the next day. Taunting him with his own promise about the unsent email in the computer beside it. He finally took off his shirt and threw it on top of the clock, blocking most of the light illuminating from it. He turned toward the wall and stared into the darkness until his lids grew heavy and he drifted off to sleep.

********************************************

His dreams were hurried and frantic. He was running from something and he couldn’t get away. His legs wouldn’t move fast enough and whatever was chasing him was gaining on him. He woke up gasping for breath and relieved that he was safe in his bed. He tried to calm himself down, reassuring himself it was just a dream.

He had drifted back off and was able to escape the chase the second time around. Unfortunately, his dreams were of him and Leslie this time instead.

Ben was sitting behind her, arms wrapped around her stomach, his lips stilled beside her temple. Her head was leaned back against his chest as she snuggled against him between his legs. They were at a barbeque in Ramsett Park, surrounded by all their friends. Their relationship was no longer a secret and they were relaxed and happy; out and free.

He closed his eyes and held her close. She started shaking his leg and whispering his name.

“Ben… Ben…”

He smiled and opened his eyes, but was confused by the darkness of his surroundings. He was suddenly aware of the fact that he was hugging a pillow he had obviously been dreaming was Leslie, but the more startling revelation that he wasn’t alone in the room almost made him yell out loud. Luckily he was able to quickly discern it was the silhouette of a woman standing above him. And the woman was shaking his leg and whispering his name with quiet earnest.

“Ben… wake up.”

He jolted up into a sitting position, pulling the covers up over his shirtless body.

“Ann?” he whispered back confused, “what are you doing in here?”

“Leslie’s in the car and she needs to talk to you.”

He groaned and lay back down, pulling the sheets up over his head. “Oh God… That’s really not a good idea, Ann. At all. I thought you two went home?”

“We did…” she started.

“Then why would you let her drive all the way back here? Don’t you think we’ve tortured each other enough for one day?”

She yanked the covers off his body and clicked on the small lamp on the dresser.

“She and I have already gone five rounds about this Ben, but you know how she is. She insisted we drive all the way back here, in the middle of the night, so she could talk to you and I couldn’t get her to wait until tomorrow. I also knew if I left her alone she would have just driven here herself, which I was definitely not about to let her do.”

Ann’s voice softened as he met her concerned stare, “I think you are really going to want to hear what she has to say Ben.”

Ann’s phone started to buzz in her pocket; he assumed it was Leslie being impatient. She didn’t move to answer it, just held his eyes and willed him silently to go.  Something in the way she’d spoken that last sentence tugged at his heart. He dropped her gaze, defeated, and looked around the room for his clothes. He grabbed his shirt from the top of the dresser, uncovering the clock’s 1:30 am as he slipped it over his head. He found his navy blue hoodie in his suitcase, put that and his sneakers on, and gestured to Ann to lead the way.

He closed his bedroom door as quietly as he could and turned to follow Ann to the car. However, she was standing on the opposite side of him, paused in front of the room she and Leslie shared.

“She’s at the end of the driveway,” she whispered, “We didn’t want everyone to hear us pull up. So now I’ve done my part in this and I’m exhausted and I’m going to go to sleep.”  She opened the bedroom door to walk inside, but turned back to him instead, “Try to keep an open mind and really listen to what she has to say, ok?”

He nodded, dropping his chin toward the floor, as she closed the door behind her.

********************************************

He could see his breath in the air as he walked the gravel driveway. He tossed his hood up over his head and stuck his hands in his pocket wondering to himself if he was attempting to shield himself more from the cold or from her. 

He felt like he was walking to his execution. 

He couldn’t see inside the car; the headlights blinding him as he slowly made his way there. He kicked stones as he walked trying to figure out the best way to apologize for everything that had happened earlier. When he approached the passenger side door, she was looking straight ahead over the steering wheel. She looked like she was in a trance. He sighed and grasped the door handle, opening it to a blast of warm air from inside.

He slid in next to her silently, not looking at her as he shut the door, closing them off to the world around them. He stared at his cold, chapped hands, as she shifted the car in reverse and backed up slowly toward the main road.

He slouched in his seat, pushed his hood back off his head and stared out the front window as she drove. She had come all this way to have this conversation in person, tonight, so he was going to sit quietly and wait for her to find her voice and say what she needed to say.

They drove in silence for a few miles. He noticed her glance his way a few times, but he never turned his head toward her. His head reeled with questions. Where they were going? What was so important that she couldn’t just wait to talk to him tomorrow?

She turned off the main road and the car glided down a dirt road which soon opened up to a clearing with a spectacular moonlit view. She left the car on for warmth, but turned off the headlights and with a shaky inhale, she turned to face him.

He looked up at her with apologetic eyes, ready to have his ass handed to him on a silver platter.

She began pretty much how he’d expected.

“In the hot tub, when you asked me if we’d still be in that same situation if everything was going smoothly with my campaign, I didn’t know how to answer you truthfully. Because I didn’t know if any of that would have happened. I was reacting without thinking, and acting without considering consequence. And Ben, I still can’t answer you honestly.” She hesitated before continuing on, “All I know for sure was that I wanted my answer to be yes.”

He pursed his lips to hold in his thoughts. He needed her to get through her part uninterrupted. He had promised Ann he would listen to her, and he knew she wasn’t done yet.

“So I cried. I cried for my campaign and I cried for you. I was still crying when Ann and Donna found me. They helped me out of the tub and brought me into the bedroom. They helped me change and tried to get me to lie down.” She cracked a small smile, “Donna was ready to hunt you down and run you over with her Mercedes. But I managed to stop her and assured her none of this was your fault.”

Ben’s face took on a questioning grimace, what did she mean none of this was his fault?

“Leslie… of course this was my…”

“Ben, please, I’m not done yet.” She cut him off gently and placed her hand on this forearm. He stared at where they were connected as she went on.

“Once I started talking, the floodgates opened. I poured my heart out to those two women. I told them everything about my campaign… and please don’t be angry, but I told Donna about us.“

“She already knew,” he mumbled under his breath.

“Yeah, that was clear pretty early on in my confession. I told them everything that happened between us today. I left out some of the more graphic details… but they got the gist.” She smirked at him and he was surprised to see her face start to brighten as she continued.

“But here’s where things started to fall in place Ben. Donna asked if I could right any wrongs in my life right now, what would they be? Without hesitation, I said my campaign and you. Those were the two things in my life that were making me the most miserable.”

“And you know what she said? She told me to change them. Made it sound like the easiest thing in the world. If both were making me miserable then figure out what I can do to make myself un-miserable. I laughed at her at first and said you were two competing goals and I couldn’t make both work simultaneously. That I’d wracked my brain for weeks over it before we broke up and there just wasn’t a solution.”

“So we shifted our focus first onto the campaign. I explained everything I told you about how William and Elizabeth were running things. How at odds we were about how to ‘sell me’ to the public. At one point Donna just interrupted me mid-sentence and told me to hold my thought and she pulled Ann out of the room. They were gone for so long I started to think they weren’t coming back.”

“But you know what? Not only did they come back, but they brought the entire Parks crew with them.”

Ben looked at her with complete confusion.

She laughed, “I think that’s the exact face I made when they all filed into my room and stood before me in a single line. It wasn’t until everyone started rattling off these random titles that I understood what was happening.”

She smiled a true Leslie Knope smile at him and her eyes glossed over as she continued.

“They were all naming off job duties as members of my new grassroots campaign team. They were offering to help me run for office my way so that I didn’t have to worry about William and Elizabeth any longer.”

Ben’s jaw dropped. He wanted to protest her decision to drop her advisors, but instead, he found himself returning her smile. Of course her friends did that. Of course they were all going to step in and offer to do anything they could to see her succeed. And he knew instantly that was how she was going to win. Her family was going to pull together and make it happen. Just like they always did when the odds were stacked against them.

“That’s incredible Leslie! So you’re going to take them up on their offer, right?”

“Actually, I already did. I couldn’t wait any longer so I called an emergency meeting with William and Elizabeth. Ann drove me back to Pawnee, and after an hour of them trying to change my mind and stay with them, I finally just stood up, thanked them for all their hard work up to this point and walked out. It was exhilarating and scary, but I really believe this is the right way to do this. Whether I win or not, I will be able to run the way I want to, stand strong for the things I believe in and be surrounded by the people I care most about during it.”

She looked at him as if she could read the thought that flashed through his head as soon as she finished – _except me._

She paused and looked down before regrouping and starting again. “So, now that brings me to the second thing that’s making me miserable… not being with you.” She cupped his face in her hands and stared intensely into his eyes, “As simple as it sounded, Donna was right. I needed to stop thinking so hard about everything and figure out a way to make myself happy. And being with you makes me happy. I need you in my life Ben. And I don’t want to sneak around this time. I don’t want to have to hide the way I feel about you anymore.”

He reached up and grabbed her wrists, pulling her hands off his face. He held them as he shook his head and interjected. “Leslie, it’s just not possible. You can’t start your campaign over from the ground up with a scandal hanging over you...”

But she confidently countered his argument. “I’m already polling at my lowest and it’s early in the campaign. This is exactly the right time to come out about our relationship. Sure, they’ll probably cause a huge commotion about it all over the media for a little while and I’ll take another hit in the polls. But then something new will come up and it will be forgotten. Or at least pushed aside for the next big headline. And that gives me time to recover based on what’s really important; the issues and how I can better Pawnee. I can base this campaign on the real me and not who William and Elizabeth wanted me to be. Think of all the scandals Dexhart came back from! And his were way more controversial than just coming clean about wanting to date a superior!”

Ben continued to shake his head, “But, Leslie, there’s still Chris’s rule. I’m still your superior. We’d have to tell him and you could risk losing your Parks job too.”

She cringed a bit at his words, but held strong. “I know I could, and I’m not going to say it’s not scary as hell. But, I’m tired of feeling like I have to be ashamed. That somehow I’m wrong for wanting to be with you. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me Ben. Yes, I’m afraid to lose my job, but I’ve realized that I’m more afraid of losing you.”

She looked down at their hands which were still intertwined before she spoke again. “I’m ready to risk it all if it means you and I can be together.  And once I realized that for sure and knew I wasn’t going to change my mind, I didn’t want to wait any longer to tell you. I want to be with you and I’m ready to face the consequences of that decision.”

She raised her head back up to meet his gaze, the vulnerability of laying her heart on her sleeve defining her features. “The only thing I’m unsure of at this point is whether or not you’re ready to do the same.”

He didn’t hesitate in his reply. He let go of her hands, unbuckled his seatbelt, and leaned over, stopping just inches from her face.

“I’ve been ready since the first time I kissed you,” he whispered.


	8. Chapter 8

He closed the remaining distance between them as he thread his fingers through her hair and let every feeling he’d bottled up over the last few months find life in his lips. She choked out a sob as she immediately responded, taking everything he offered and giving into him completely.

He knew this decision was monumental. And not just in what it was going to mean for their jobs and for her campaign. He knew in that moment, that once his lips reclaimed hers, he would never let her go again. His kisses increased in intensity with every thought of their time spent apart. He guided her across the arm rest and into his lap when their passion escalated to the point where lips and hands were no longer enough to satisfy their need for each other.

She left her jacket behind as she moved willingly onto his lap, straddling him as he blindly reached for the lever to recline the seat and slide it as far toward the back of the car as he could. Her body molded against his as the back lowered until they were stretched lengthwise against each other, every possible inch pressed against each other. His hands moved fervently, insatiably over her. The only time his lips left hers were for the brief moments when they needed to taste more of her. They traveled across her jaw to the spot on her neck he knew would make her flood with desire for him.

He licked down her neck, closing his lips hard around her skin several times on their journey. She clawed at his hair, his arms and reached under him to pull his ass closer to her center as he explored her again. He groaned at the change in pressure, the immediate need to be inside her taking over his entire focus.

“Leslie…”

He managed to form a single word under the intensity of their need for their lips to remain connected to any and all parts of each other. She shook her head, refusing to verbally respond as she moved her hands to his chest and unzipped the sweatshirt he was wearing. He pulled his arms out of the sleeves and gave up his quest for speech momentarily, instead reveling in the feel of her fingers running over his t-shirt and down his chest. When she reached the bottom, she slid her hands under the fabric and inched his shirt up over his chest as she moved her lips to explore the newly exposed skin.

He placed his hands gently on her head, following, not leading, her way. Her hair tickled his stomach as she licked and sucked and made her way up his chest. She became increasingly frustrated with the need to move his shirt higher until she finally yanked it up and over his head, moving her lips back up to his as she slid it the rest of the way off his up-stretched arms.  
Once he was naked from the waist up, his surroundings came glaringly back into focus and he remembered why he’d said her name a few minutes earlier.

He placed his hands on either side of her face and gently pulled her head back from his. She looked radiant, sexually charged. Her lips swollen and red, her face dark and full of desire. He couldn’t stop himself as he leaned back up for one last, deep kiss before pulling away from her again.

“I want you so badly,” he groaned as she ran her hands back down his chest toward the tie on his pajama bottoms. He stilled her hands with one of his. “But not in a car. I don’t want our first time together again to be in the front seat of a car. I want to be able to lay you across a bed and not come up for air for hours.”

She moaned at the thought, but instead, sat up and started to unbutton her blouse.

“Tomorrow you can take me home and we can spend all day naked in my bed. But today we don’t have that option. The closest place we could go would be the cabin, but I don’t want to have to worry about being too loud or being caught before we come clean on our own.” She finished unbuttoning her shirt and his hands reached up of their own accord to slowly lower it off her shoulders.

She reached around to unclasp her bra once the shirt disappeared onto the floor behind her. “I don’t care that we are in my car right now Ben, all I care about is being with you.”

He reached up and ghosted his hands along both sides of her face, down her neck and across her taut nipples. He was a goner. Hopelessly, endlessly in love with the woman who sat perched on top of him, offering herself wholly to him, damning all consequences. He reached up with one hand and caressed her cheek, then slid both hands into her hair and slowly guided her body back down to him. At the first contact of her breasts against his bare chest, he felt an electric current spread across his body, reaching every fiber of his being. As they once again pressed skin against skin, he buried his face in her neck, unable to do more than moan in her ear and breathe her in.

The frantic pace of their earlier kisses slowed. He trailed his open mouth seductively down her neck. He nipped gently at her collarbone and reached up to cup her breast as he lightly flicked her nipple with his thumb. She moaned long and loud, uninhibited by their surroundings. He felt goosebumps spread across his skin at the sound of her arousal. His cock pulsed against her as she sat on top on him, and she ground against him as he craned his neck toward her chest and took her nipple softly between his teeth.

He teased her at first, lightly scraping his teeth on along it and then swirling his tongue around the hard nub. Her moans became louder and she tilted her hips toward him so his erection passed directly over her clit as she moved. She dropped her head against his as he continued to suck on her nipples and massage her breasts. She was moving so vehemently against the bulge in his pants it was verging on painful.

He let go of her breasts and reached his hand down between them to the button on her pants. She stilled her movements and pulled back, locking eyes with him as he slid the button back through the hole. She placed both hands on the headrest behind him and lifted herself to hover above him as he pulled down the zipper. Never losing eye contact, he gripped the waistbands of both her pants and her underwear at the same time and slid them over her ass and as far down her legs as he could reach. She took over the rest with one hand as he ran his hands sensually back up her legs, halting his movements when he reached her ass.

He laid his head back down and guided her bottom toward his face as he sank as far down in the seat as legroom would allow. She shook with desire at what he was about to do as she crawled on her knees as far up toward his face as she could. Leaning forward, she placed her hands on the backseat on either side of the headrest to support her weight as the heat from his mouth and the anticipation of the moment caused a surge of moisture between her legs.

The need to shrug off his own pants and sit her on top of him conflicted with the hunger he had to taste her. His mouth was salivating with just the thought of being between her legs again. He wanted to drown in her scent and feel her cum on his face. He hadn’t even touched her there yet but the anticipation sent a rush of blood straight to his cock. He was certain he had never been this hard in his whole life. But he didn’t want this to end yet, and he knew once he was inside her, he wouldn’t be able to last very long. So he focused all his attention on the magnificence of the sight above him, hoping he could divert some attention away from his fierce erection.

He moved his hands off her ass and gripped the outsides of her thighs as he pulled her the last few inches toward his face. He kissed all long the top of her blonde curls, aware of her soft whimpers as he teased closer to her folds. He took one side of her gently into his mouth and sucked before letting go and moving on to the other. She gasped as his nose grazed over the middle, just above where she craved his tongue to jut out and stroke, as he made his way to the other.

As his mouth released her, he slid his hands across the front of her thighs. He used his thumbs to pull her folds open and expose the only place in the universe he wanted to lose himself completely. He grazed a finger down her opening, drawing her wetness back up as he worshipped her laid out before him. She moaned with desire as his slick finger reached her clit and circled the outer rim. When he used his tongue to trace the same path she started to tremble and pant his name.

“Ooooh my godddd Ben…” she whimpered as his tongue moved in slow circles over her and he gently closed his lips around her, giving her a full, wet kiss before trailing back toward her opening. He lapped at her like she was an oasis unable to quench his thirst. Her sweetness was like a drug. He pressed his nose against her clit when he sunk lower, sliding it up against that pleasure spot as his mouth returned to gently suck it.

She was starting to lose control. Each swipe of his face along her pussy was causing her to writhe harder against his face. Her moans were drawn out and overlapping; she was cursing and praising his name. She was so wet he couldn’t drink her in fast enough. He could feel the first pulses around her nub and he knew she was ready. He moved his hand behind her ass and played with her opening with his fingers as he concentrated his mouth on her clit.

“Fuuuuuck Ben… that feels so fucking good… oh my god…yesss…right there…keep going… “

He had two fingers moving inside her as he sucked hard on her clit. He was afraid he was going to lose it himself in his sweats if she didn’t finish quickly. He soon felt the first pulses of her inner walls. Seconds later, her body went rigid as her orgasm overtook her. She was louder than he’d ever heard her, completely over whelmed by the ferocity of her contractions. He felt the pulsing under his mouth and the clenching around his fingers. He knew it was a powerful release, and she slumped over him as he stilled on and in her. He waited until the after-shocks receded before removing his fingers from inside her. He wiped them off on his pant leg as he kissed up her belly, leaving the trail of her desire behind and wiping his face clean.

She lifted her body as best she could as he repositioned himself, sliding back up to her level. He hugged her to his chest and kissed her cheek and her temple while she recovered.

“Ben…” she panted, trying to catch her breath, “…that was … by far… the most amazing…”

He silenced her with a kiss. Not because he was embarrassed by her praises, but because he wanted to, he had to. And also, because finally, he could; whenever he wanted to. He kissed her because, even though it had only been minutes since he had last felt her lips against his, he was already aching for them again.

She returned his kiss full and deep. Both of them using the unspoken gesture to say the words they had not yet said out loud to one another. She broke the kiss first, sliding her hand down his chest and gripping his rock hard erection.

“Your turn, “she breathed against his lips before she started to slink her body backwards.

He caught her upper arms as he shook his head, “I wouldn’t last more than a few seconds if you did that right now, “he groaned. “I don’t want to risk not being able to be inside you.”

She smiled and nodded her head in agreement, then sat back, straddling his legs, while she untied the drawstring on his sweats. She slid them down his legs, finally releasing his generous arousal and wrapping her hand back around him as he stood at full attention. She watched her hand as she stroked him a few times, twisting her wrist at the tip and causing him to reach out suddenly and stop her movements.

“Leslie, I wasn’t kidding,” he warned. “It’s really not going to take much.”

She released him gently and kissed her way back up his body. She rested her open mouth against his as she reached back and positioned him between her soaking wet folds.

He managed to hold her still and have a rational thought before she moved against him.

“Do you have… I didn’t bring…” he was so turned on he couldn’t speak. He could only pray she understood his intentions.

“I don’t and it’s ok. We don’t need it. I’ve always been on the pill and unless you have something you need to tell me that I would have hoped you’d have told me a long time ago, we don’t need to worry.”

He shook his head no against her forehead, no longer able to formulate speech.

“Then I don’t want to use them. Not this time, and not ever again. I don’t want there to be anything between us anymore. I just want you.”

He stopped breathing when she slid back against his length, soaking him as he groaned loudly. He felt the pressure of her glide on his shaft release as she finally rested her opening on his tip.

“I love you,” she sighed against his lips as she lowered herself slowly around him.

“I love you too” he choked out; emotions surging though his body as they finally rejoined as one.

Once he was buried deep inside her, he grabbed her hips and held her still. He needed a few seconds to relax, to adjust. He was so worked up he was afraid it would be over in one stroke. The feel of her walls directly on his cock for the first time was overwhelming. To know it was going to feel this way every time was causing his head to spin.

He knew this wasn’t their happy ending yet, that they had a few more hurdles to jump. But she told him that she loved him, and he knew they would find a way to get through the difficult times ahead together. The impact of those three little words likened to a nuclear bomb inside his already swollen heart. He wanted to hear her tell him that every day for the rest of his life.

When he was finally sure he was able to move again, he grabbed her hips and encouraged her to rock gently on top of him. He watched her circle her hips over top of him, eyes closed, head thrown back in ecstasy. He looked down to where they were joined, only able to see the occasional hint of his shaft under her lips as she bore down on every inch of him she could. The sight of her so lost in having him inside of her caused him to need more. He grabbed her hips and encouraged her to ride him higher, to allow more of him to slide in and out of her. She adjusted immediately, opening her eyes and allowing her increasing arousal to take over her expressions.

As she picked up the speed, he watched as her breast began to bounce, and she left his cock more and more slick with each pass. He began to match her stroke for stoke as the need to thrust overpowered him. She held herself up at one point and just let him take over. He grabbed her waist and pounded up into her until his thighs burned from the exertion. He was starting to feel the sweat gathering on his brow, down his back. The heater in the car was still blasting out hot air to counter the chill of the autumn night. He pulled her back down to him, tasting the saltiness of her upper lip as they crushed their mouths back against the other. They were panting, devouring each other as their bodies began to build toward release.

He needed to be on top, he needed to bury himself as deep as possible inside her. As gracefully as possible given their current location, he flipped them so he was on top of her. He slowed his thrusts for a moment as he moved his mouth back down to her breast and worked each nipple with his tongue. Her arms were over her head, clutching the headrest as he moaned and thrashed beneath him. He continued his long, lingering thrusts, feeling every inch of her pass along his cock. He savored the slow build, knowing the next time he went fast he wouldn’t be able to hold his orgasm back any longer.

She started to rock her hips up hard into his, but he wasn’t ready for the end yet. “Leslie,” he moved his mouth back up her chest to her neck, “relax sweetie. You feel so incredible. Just breathe and feel…”

She stilled and he grabbed one of her legs and bent her knee up toward her chest. She reached around and placed both hands on his ass, pulling him into her as deep as she could while he found a rhythm he could sustain. He kept his face buried in her neck and everything around him faded as he directed his entire focus to the feel of her surrounding him. He held the pace as long as he could, but as her breathing and moaning began to intensify, he felt a tightening start in his balls he was unable to stop.

He couldn’t hold back any longer. As he started to increase the speed, Leslie grabbed harder at his ass, and adjusted her hips under him. He knew when she found the perfect angle because she groaned loudly and told him she was close. The louder she got the faster and harder he thrust.

“Ben… I’m so close…”

“Oh fuck Leslie, I can’t hold it any longer”

“Oh god… Ben… “

“Come on… cum with me…”

He lifted his head and the look of pure desire and love mirrored on their faces as they locked eyes with each other sent them both over the edge. He felt the wave of ecstasy shoot from his balls up his shaft as she clamped onto him and he pressed as far into as he could and let her contractions work the cum out of his cock while he pulsed his hips against her. They were both uninhibited in their release, gasping each other’s names as waves of pleasure tore through their bodies. He came hard, stream after stream emptying into her. Her body seized with the intensity of her orgasm as she clawed at his ass while she pulsed around him.

He collapsed on top of her, sated and exhausted. They panted against each other as they lay connected, neither moving as they fought to catch their breath. He worried that he might be smothering her so he shifted his weight to move off of her, but she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him back to her.

“No… not yet,” she whispered as she held him close.

He dropped his lips to hers and kissed her until he felt himself go completely soft. He rolled sideways off of her, pulling her with him, still kissing her gently as they stalled the inevitable return to reality. He finally pulled back, her whimper making him smile.

“You know we can’t stay here all night, right?” he said as he held her against his chest.

“I don’t see why not”, she pouted as she feathered kisses against his skin. “I’m so tired I could sleep just like this.”

“I think we would really regret that in the morning. “ He rubbed her back, rational thought not yet giving way to physical action. She sighed and lifted her head back from his chest.

She brought a hand up to hold his face as she rubbed her thumb back and forth over his stubble. “I’m just not ready to face the real world yet,” she whispered. “As soon as we get back, the hard part begins.”

He nodded in understanding at her attempts to stall the inevitable.

“Are you having second thoughts about doing this?’ his voice barely discernable as he voiced his greatest fear.

But she smiled and shook her head, “Not even one.” She answered resolutely. “I meant what I said. I love you and I want to be with you.”

“God I love you too... so much Leslie.” He gave her one last lingering kiss before he started reaching for their clothes. “But we really have to get back.” She nodded silently as she took her bra from his hand and started getting dressed.

It wasn’t as easy putting their clothes back on as it was taking them off. They laughed at each other while they struggled to reach around for their discarded items. Once they were fully dressed and Leslie was back in the driver’s seat, she looked back over at him and reached for his hand, giving it a quick squeeze before turning the car around and heading back toward the main road.

They drove the few miles back to the cabin in a comfortable silence, each alone with their thoughts of what was still to come. Leslie turned off the headlights as they turned into the driveway, slowing the car to a crawl and stopping halfway. They didn’t need to say why. They both knew returning together in the middle of the night and waking everyone up was not the way they wanted to announce they were together. They both needed the night to recoup. To figure out their next move.  
They lightly pressed the doors to the car closed as they got out, careful not to slam them. He met her in front of the car with kisses full of promise, strength and love.

“Stay in my room tonight and we’ll walk out and face everyone together in the morning?” he offered, praying she would agree because he wasn’t ready to let her out of his sight just yet.

“Yes, absolutely.” She smiled before a huge yawn took over.

He shrugged his head toward the door and reached for her hand as they snuck back inside. They crept as quietly as they could over to his room, freezing in place as they heard a door click open. Ann’s sleepy face peeked out and when she saw them standing in front of his room holding hands, she smiled and shyly retreated back into hers.

They closed Ben’s door quickly behind them once inside, silently undressed each other and climbed into the bed. Her naked body formed perfectly against his just like he remembered. Her head on rested on his chest and her foot curled around his calf. She craned her neck for one last kiss before heavy lids rapidly took over and she fell asleep.

His drift into slumber was not as swift. His mind reeled about their reveal the next morning. He’d known Chris much longer than Leslie and had no delusions that he may go easy on them in the name of love. Chris had been steadfast in his denial of Ben’s request to date a city employee. Not only was he going to be furious with them in the morning, but he was going to take it personally that Ben had willingly disobeyed a clear directive; and had lied to him for months while he did it. He looked at Leslie lying in his arms and made a decision. She had thrown caution to the wind and come back to him, knowing full well she could lose her job over this. He had only one possible course of action to try to make sure that didn’t happen. He slipped quietly out of the bed and grabbed his laptop from the top of the dresser. He sat on the floor across the room, drew courage from the sleeping form waiting in his bed for him to return, returned to the Word document he had already prepared, and began to revise.

********************************************

Ben awoke to the smell of Leslie’s hair, the perfectness of her body lined up with his and the softness of her shoulder against his lips. He didn’t move right away, trying to ignore his arousal settled against her ass as he fought to not press it up against her and wake her up. He heard faraway voices as people clamored about the house. He wasn’t in any hurry to leave their bubble, but he was resolute and ready to put the previous night’s decision into action.

It wasn’t long before Leslie began to stir. He felt her freeze for a quick moment, before she relaxed and thread her fingers through his hand that was wrapped around her belly. He was pleasantly surprised when she pressed her ass back against his erection, and then reached behind her and slipped him easily into her opening. He fought back a moan as he pushed himself the rest of the way in her, thankful that she didn’t wake up and have any regrets.

He knew they had to be quick and quiet about it, so he moved carefully, letting go of her hand and reaching between her legs to play with her clit and help her along as he allowed his orgasm to build unimpeded. Her breath soon turned rapid and quick, and he picked up easily on her muted signals that she was almost there. When he felt her body stiffen in reaction to the start of her orgasm, he pressed his face into her back and muffled his own sighs of pleasure as he joined her.

They stayed quiet in the aftermath, remaining entangled in each other’s arms. As the voices outside the door got louder and dishes began to clang in the kitchen just around the corner, Ben gave Leslie one last kiss on her back.

“We can’t hide in here forever,” he whispered as his heart began to race.

Knowing what was waiting for them on the other side of the wall and being ready to make the ultimate sacrifice to be with the woman he loved still didn’t lessen the anticipation of the moment. He cleaned himself off as best he could with his discarded t-shirt and grabbed the towel draped over the bedpost for Leslie.

He pulled on his boxers and pajamas, and turned to find her sitting up in the bed, covers pulled up to her chest, eyes cast downward into her lap.

“I’m really scared Ben.”

Her voice trembled as she spoke. He sat down on the edge of the bed next to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her close to him.

“I want to do this, I swear. I haven’t changed my mind.”

“I know you haven’t,“ he squeezed her shoulders, kissed her temple and stood up, offering a hand to assist her out of bed. “We are in this together Leslie. We will deal with Chris together. No matter what happens out there, I want you to know that I love you and all that matters to me is that I’m with you.”

She reached two hands up to cup his face and stood on her tiptoes to give him a firm, chaste kiss. They dressed in silence, hands shaking and pulses racing. He stood by the door with one hand on the knob and held the other out to her.

She grabbed it tightly, palms sweaty, and took a deep breath before nodding her head that she was ready.

“Just follow my lead ok? Trust me…”

His stomach in knots, he slowly opened the door and led her into the hallway. As they reached the corner to turn into the kitchen, Chris’s overly cheerful voice rang out over the rest. Leslie froze, unable to take another step. Ben turned to her and mouthed ‘trust me’. She took a deep breath and released it slowly before signaling she was ready.

Ben stepped into the kitchen first, their joined hands trailing behind him.

“Ben! You look much better today! Have you heard the fantastic news about Leslie’s campaign yet?”

Leslie slinked around the corner behind Ben as Chris was talking, “Leslie! I’m glad you came back! I have so many ideas for…” Chris trailed off mid-sentence, smile frozen on his face, brows turning up with question as he took in the sight before him. He was clearly trying to process the two of them emerging from the bedrooms together, holding hands. The rest of the crew fell silent as mouths gaped open and eyes shifted around the room.

Chris’s smile reached only as far as his mouth as he struggled to rationalize the two of them before him, “Did you two fall asleep in his room brainstorming campaign strategies? Of course you did! The Dynamic Duo is back together and unstoppable!”

“Chris…” Ben tried to interject, but Chris was still rambling, notes of hysteria creeping into his voice.

“Is Leslie ok? She looks pale. Do you need help walking? Ann! I think Leslie was hurt worse than we thought yesterday!” Ann didn’t move. Chris stared at her in amazement when she didn’t immediately rush over to tend to her friend.

“Chris…” Ben tried again, and this time, Chris stopped trying to assess the scene in front of him and turned to face Ben.

“Maybe you should sit down, “ Ben offered, his voice not sounding as confident as he needed it to.

“I think I’ll stand if you don’t mind,” Ben could see Chris’s mind starting to wrap around the vision set before him.

Leslie was shaking behind him, and he guided her gently to stand beside him.

“I know you are going to be angry, but I’m asking you to hear me out before you react. Yes, we did fall asleep together in my room, but not because of a late night strategy session. We did it because we chose to.” Chris’s looked between them in astonishment.

“Leslie was the one I asked you last year if I could date from City Hall. We denied our feelings for as long as we could, but after that trip to Indianapolis for the Little League tournament, we couldn’t take it anymore and we gave in. We both knew the rules, and we broke them. We dated secretly until she was approached to run for City Council. We broke up just before she announced her candidacy. We tried to stay apart, but when you caught on to our struggles and forced us to come on this trip to mend our friendship, we realized we can’t deny how we feel about each other anymore. When I told you I didn’t want to work with her anymore it was because being around her and not being able to be with her was killing me.”

Ben paused and Chris took it as a sign to speak up, “Wow. I am floored. Ben, I had no idea you felt this way about Leslie. As your best friend, I think it’s wonderful that the two of you have found each other. But, as your boss, I am deeply hurt by your blatant disregard for my strict no dating policy. I know I don’t have to tell either of you why it is so important to protect the government against potential corruption and scandal. I can’t just look the other way and ignore that the two of you broke a very important rule in being together and lying about it. I hope you both understand that as City Manager, I am forced to launch a full scale investigation into any wrongdoing your relationship may have caused.”

He looked back over to Ben, “Ben, I am wounded to my very core by your behavior. You are the one who was in the position of authority. You are the one who is held to more stringent standards. The fact that you ignored the clear impropriety of a decision to engage with one of your inferiors is inexcusable!”

He turned to Leslie who had her head hung in shame, “Leslie, I expected more from you than this. I thought you were the model government employee. Both of you be need to be prepared to stand before the Ethics Committee on Monday when we return to work.” Ben saw the tears flood her eyes as she nodded to Chris, unable to speak. He’d had enough. It was time to put his plan into motion.

“Actually Chris, that won’t be necessary.” Leslie’s head shot up at the confidence in his voice, “effective immediately, I am resigning as Assistant City Manager.”

Leslie turned to him frantic, “What?! Ben! You can’t do that!”

He stayed focused on Chris. “I take full responsibility for the relationship and have admitted to everything in my resignation letter. It is ready and waiting to be sent on my laptop in my room. You will have it in your inbox as soon as this discussion is over.”

He turned to face Leslie and grabbed her other hand as she continued to shake her head no while tears streamed down her cheeks.

“Leslie, you put your job and your campaign on the line to be with me. Let me do this for you. It is the only way you can come out of this with even the chance of keeping your job. This is your town. You have poured your heart and soul into it. I can’t stand by and do nothing while you lose everything knowing that I may have been able to stop it. I want to do this. If we hadn’t gotten back together this weekend I was most likely going to quit anyway. When you left last night, I wrote up my letter of resignation. When you fell asleep last night, I got up and revised it, taking full responsibility for our indiscretion.”

She stopped shaking her head and tried to smile at him through her continuing tears.

“I love you Leslie. No job is worth more to me than being with you.” He stared into her eyes; his own full of love and excitement for their future, “Let me do this so we can finally be together.”

She choked out a sob of relief, threw her arms around his neck and kissed him passionately. He was aware of the sound of sniffling coming from behind them and turned to see Chris openly weeping.

“That was the most beautiful thing I have ever witnessed.” he sobbed. “I am sad to see you go, Ben. You were the most amazing partner I could have ever asked for. If you are so absolutely committed to this woman that you are willing to do this, then I will accept your resignation, albeit with an extremely heavy heart. Unfortunately, Leslie will still have to go before the Ethics Committee, I can’t ignore that she has also done wrong, but with your resignation claiming full responsibility for your relationship, I am certain the punishment handed down to her will not include her dismissal. In fact, it will be my personal recommendation to the board that it does not.”

The kitchen erupted in hoots and hollers, everyone rushing in to hug the pair. Ben caught April’s eye before she turned her back to him and smiled at the glassiness he caught in them. Donna gave him a pursed lip nod of approval, and Ron stuck out his hand, giving him a firm shake and commending him for taking a stand and being a man.

Ann was hugging Leslie so tightly no one could get to her, but Andy rushed over and grabbed Ben into a bear hug with the girls, reminding him about the day he told him if it was meant to be it was going to happen.

Ann whispered something in Leslie’s ear, causing her face to light up as she released her friend and walked over to where her boyfriend stood. He smirked at her as she approached. ‘Thank you’ she mouthed to him as she stretched up for another kiss.

When they parted, she looked up to him with a gleam in her eye, “Mr. Mayor, will you do me the honor of joining my newly formed team as my campaign manager? You’re the only one here with any experience, and there is no one on Earth that I would rather go into this battle with than you. We can face the backlash of our relationship together; show everyone we are in love and not at all ashamed about it.” She smiled at Chris as she continued. “A great man once told me that together we were unstoppable, a ‘Dynamic Duo’ if you will. I’d like the chance to continue to prove that is true.”

He smiled down at her, not entirely convinced that was their best course of action, but ecstatic that they had all the time in the world now to decide, together, what their next moves should be.


End file.
